



\PV 



<?> 







V A 






< 









^. ^°^ 





&•• V 



O V 














,/\ 




"SfiVJ** > 



A 






<f. 




4 o 









.-y 




> v . • ■ •- ck jy 




o V 





fyamA^j^mm 



^WSII 




CINCINNATI, OHIO: 
S^u-LlU/ied ctt I/le ^/{LcL&an-Lc ^LeultLUL (Pffire. 



LEAFLETS 



OF 



MASONIC BIOGKAPHY; 



OR SKETCHES OF 



EMINENT FREEMASONS, 



EDITED BY 

C. ]\IOORE, A. M., 

EDITOK OF THE MASONIC REVIEW. 




CINCINNATI: 

PUBLISHED AT THE MASONIC REVIEW OFFICE. 
1863. 






Entered according to Act of Congress, in the. year 1863, by 

CORNELIUS MOORE. 

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern Dis- 
trict of Ohio. 

STEREOTYPED AT THE FKANKLIN TYPE FOUNDRY, CINCINNATI, 0. 



Z k o Jt 4 



PREFACE 



When a Roman matron of former days was asked for 
her jewels, she pointed to her sons ; and there is no reason 
why Freemasonry may not do the same. The time was, and 
within the memory of men not yet far advanced in years, 
that, to be a Freemason, was to be suspected of, and charged 
with being an enemy to and a sinner against social order, 
capable of any moral or political dereliction, and unworthy 
the confidence and respect of community. In some places 
they were refused Christian fellowship, and considered as 
guilty of offenses that would exclude them from heaven. 
They were distrusted in political organizations, as conspir- 
ators against the peace and welfare of the nation. They 
were scorned in social circles, as unfit for respectable society, 
because they were members of the obnoxious Order; and 
they were sometimes prevented from sitting as jurors in 
courts of justice, because suspected of a want of integrity, 
and even of disregarding the obligations of an oath. And 
all this, it was charged, was the legitimate fruit of Free- 
masonry. Men even of the purest morals, and of the highest 



MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

social position, were arraigned as criminals, and threatened 
with imprisonment, as common felons, if they did not at 
once abjure Freemasonry, and reveal all they knew of its 
" secrets!" 

That time has passed, much of the prejudice against the 
Order has subsided, and reason has resumed its control over 
public sentiment. It is, therefore, a proper time for Free- 
masonry to be heard in its own defense, and to justify its 
claims to public regard. This, it is believed it can best do 
by pointing to those of its members whose private charac- 
ters and public services will be a sufficient refutation of the 
false charges against the Order. Their purity of life, their 
incorruptible integrity, their virtue and patriotism, will be 
the best defense of Masonry. 

It is intended, therefore, by the publication of this volume, 
to remind the Order and the public of the great names 
which have adorned our history, and of the "good and true " 
men who have deemed it no dishonor to be numbered in 
our ranks. These were our brethren — "our jewels; " their 
blameless and useful lives furnish an example for our living 
members ; and from their honored graves there comes a voice 
in defense of an Institution they loved and honored while 

living. 

Publisher. 

Cincinnati, August, 1863. 



CONTENTS 



JOSEPH WARREN. By Bro. C. Moore, Editor "Masonic 

Review," -----._-_ 9 

SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN. By Bro. C. Moore, - - 51 

THOMAS SMITH WEBB. By Bro. C. Moore, 95 

REV. JAMES ANDERSON, D. D. By Bro. C. Moore, - 129 

JOSEPH BRANT, (THAYENDANEGEA.) By Bro. Sidney 

Hayden, Esq. .--_.__« 141 

THE DUKE OF SUSSEX. By Bro. W. P. Strickland, D. D. 167 

GEORGE WASHINGTON. By Bro. C. Moore, - - - 195 

DE WITT CLINTON. By Bro. W. P. Strickland, D. D. - 241 

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. By Bro. W. P. Strickland, D. D. 2G5 

MARQUIS DE LA FAYETTE. By Bro. W. P. Strick- 
land, D. D. - - - - - - - - - 293 

ISRAEL PUTNAM. By Bro. C. Moore, - - - - 311 

DAVID WOOSTER. Abridged from an Oration by Bro., 

Hon. Henry C. Deming, - - - - - -337 

ROBERT BURNS. By Bro. C. Moore, ... 379 

(v) 



JOSEPH WARREN. 



JOSEPH WARREN 



A little more than one hundred years ago, on a quiet 
afternoon in summer, a number of boys, students in the 
same class at Harvard College, had shut themselves in 
an upper room to arrange some affairs pertaining to the 
class. Another member of the class greatly desired to 
be with them— knowing they designed to thwart some 
fondly cherished purpose of his own. They refused to 
admit him ; the door was closed, and he could not gain 
admission without violence — which he wished to avoid. 
Pveconnoitering the premises, he discovered that the 
window of the room in which they were assembled was 
open, and near a water-spout which extended from the 
roof to the ground. He therefore climbed to the top 
of the house, slid down to the eaves, then laid hold of 
the spout, and descended it, until opposite the window, 
when, by a prodigious physical effort, he suddenly threw 
himself through the window into the room. At that 
instant the spouting gave way and fell: had it fallen 
half a minute sooner, the boy would have been dashed 
to pieces on the pavement below! He looked at the 

(9) 



10 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

broken spout a moment without the slightest emotion, 
and then, coolly remarking " It has served my purpose," 
proceeded to business. That boy was Joseph Warren — 
afterward General Warren, the martyr of Bunker Hill. 
The boy already gave promise of the man — whatever he 
undertook, that he performed ! 

Joseph Warren was born at Boxbury,- now one of the 
suburbs of the city of Boston, in 1740. The house in 
which he was born is still standing — a large, plain, old- 
fashioned stone mansion, which may still remain for a 
century or more to come. It stands on a street that 
now bears the name of the illustrious hero; it occu- 
pies a beautiful location, surrounded by a large lot 
tastefully ornamented with shrubbery; and though 
antiquated in the style of its architecture, yet art has 
made it a lovely spot, and it is still more interesting in 
its associations. We saw it on a bright and balmy 
day in spring a few years since. The flowers were 
blooming in the grounds, while the birds were rejoic- 
ing in the trees, and the shrubbery had put on its 
gayest attire. It would be a marked spot in any town, 
or city of the Union; but as the birth-place of the 
patriot Grand Master of all North America, it possessed, 
in our eyes, extraordinary attractions. 

History has not told us anything of Warren's parents, 
save that his father lost his life by a fall from an apple- 
tree, while gathering apples, when Joseph was about 
sixteen years of age. His genealogy, however, is of 
little consequence, as he " carved out his own fortune," 
and was, in one respect, the first of his family. It 
may truly be said of him, that no matter 

"To -whom related or by whom begot," 



JOSEPH WARREN. 11 

for he was not dependent upon ancestral renown for a 
single star in his coronet; he won them all himself, 
and wrote his own name upon the brightest page of his 
country's history. We have seen that he was left 
an orphan at sixteen, and was dependent, in a great 
measure, upon his own talents and energy of character 
for the prominence he afterward obtained. He entered 
Harvard College at fourteen years of age, and gradu- 
ated with distinction at that ancient seat of learning. 
He afterward applied himself to the study of medicine, 
and, at the age of twenty-three, settled in Boston and 
commenced the practice of his profession, in which he 
soon rose to distinction. When the quarrel began be- 
tween the Colonies and the mother country, Warren 
espoused the cause of freedom and his native land, and 
entered into the contest with such zeal that he was 
soon regarded as one of the master spirits among the 
patriots of the day. 

In the year 1768, a secret association was organized 
in Boston, composed of the principal men of the city, 
the object of which was to keep alive the spirit of 
opposition to British tyranny, and devise ways and 
means to resist the oppressive measures of English 
statesmen. Dr. Warren was a member of that associa- 
tion, the most untiring in his zeal and the most fruitful 
in his resources of all his associates. Samuel Adams 
was also a member, between whom and Warren a 
friendship grew up as pure and as permanent as that 
between David and Jonathan. So sincere, so almost 
sacred, was the personal attachment of Adams to 
Warren, that, in an oration delivered by the former in 
Philadelphia, after Warren's death, he declared that 



12 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

the dearest wish of his soul, next to seeing his country 
free and independent, was that, when no more of earth, 
his ashes might mingle with those of a Warren and 
Montgomery. And the eloquent Craftsman, Perez 
Morton, in his oration at the re-interment of Warren's 
remains, says : "An Adams can witness with how much 
zeal he loved, when he had formed the sacred connec- 
tion of a friend; their kindred souls were so closely 
twined, that both felt one joy, one affliction." 

The feeling of hostility which had been engendered 
among the people by the determination of the Brit- 
ish Parliament to tax the Colonies, had risen to such 
a hight that England found it necessary to station 
troops in Boston, to overawe the inhabitants and pre- 
vent an outbreak; but, instead of quelling the spirit 
of resistance, it only excited indignation; and the 
soldiery, as the present symbol and instrument of the 
oppressor's power, became the special objects of hatred. 
On the 5th of March, 1770, a rather turbulent assem- 
blage of the masses took place in the streets, in open 
day. The British officer in command ordered them to 
disperse, but they answered him by an indignant re- 
fusal, and, probably, made some demonstration upon the 
soldiers. Upon this the officer commanded his men to 
lire into the crowd, when many were wounded, and 
some slain. This barbarous outrage roused the citizens 
to the highest pitch of indignation, and had not the 
soldiers been removed, every man of them had proba- 
bly been immolated upon the altar of the people's 
vengeance. The slain were regarded as martyrs, and 
the whole country rang with denunciations upon the 
perpetrator of the outrage. The anniversary of the 



JOSEPH WAEBEN. 13 

" Boston Massacre/' as it was called, was observed for 
several subsequent years in that city, and her most 
honored and eloquent citizens were the orators on such 
occasions, to describe the deed of blood and rehearse 
the story of their wrongs. 

But this became a duty of peril, as well as of dis- 
tinction. The English officers and troops generally 
attended on such occasions, to overawe the speaker, 
and prevent, if possible, the severe denunciations. On 
the 5th of March, 1775, an oration was determined 
on, but who should be the orator? Who would risk 
a charge of treason, not to say his life, in the presence 
of the British army, which then had possession of the 
city ? It required a brave man to stand up in the old 
South Church, and, in the face of the officers, proclaim 
their bloody deeds, and hurl anathemas at the power 
that sent them! There was difficulty in securing the 
services of any one ; the danger was too imminent \ and 
in the emergency, Dr. "Warren solicited the appoint- 
ment. It required a cool head and steady nerves, but 
the Grand Master had both; and had he been sure of 
martyrdom in the pulpit, he would probably have dis- 
charged the trust. At the appointed hour he repaired 
to the church. The crowd was immense ; the aisles, 
the pulpit stairs, and even the pulpit itself, were filled 
with officers and soldiers of the garrison, who were, 
doubtless, stationed there to intimidate the orator, or 
perhaps prevent him, by force, from proceeding. War- 
ren, however, accustomed to perform whatever he 
undertook, was not to be deterred from his patriotic 
undertaking. He entered the church from the rear, 
through the pulpit window, and, regardless of the mili- 



14 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

tary array which surrounded and pressed upon him, 
delivered a most eloquent and thrilling address, which 
has come down to our own times ; and such was the 
influence of his courage and eloquence, that the vast 
audience was enchanted, and even his enemies listened 
to him without a murmur. In the midst of his most 
impassioned and eloquent denunciations, an English 
officer, who was seated on the pulpit stairs, held up his 
hand full in Warren's view, with several pistol bullets 
on the open palm. The act was significant, and spoke 
louder than words. It was a moment of peril, re- 
quiring the exercise of unusual courage and prudence 
blended together. The reader may judge of the emer- 
gency by the circumstances; but "Warren was equal to 
it. To hesitate — to falter— to allow a single nerve or 
muscle to tremble, would have been a failure; nay, 
worse — ruin! The act of the officer was pregnant 
with meaning ; all understood it ; and a man less daring 
than Warren would have quailed under the peril that 
surrounded him. But he met the occurrence with the 
wisdom of a sage combined with the courage of a hero. 
His eye caught the action of the officer, and without 
being in the least disconcerted, or for a moment sus- 
pending his discourse, he dropped a white handkerchief 
itpon the officer s hand. The act was so adroitly and 
courteously performed, that the Briton was compelled 
to acknowledge it by permitting the orator to finish his 
discourse in peace. 

Warren seemed to live only for the cause he had 
espoused; his pen and his tongue were constantly em- 
ployed in favor of the rights and the freedom of the 
Colonies. He was everywhere, and always busy. ISTo 



JOSEPH WARREN. 15 

man in Boston, or in New England, wielded a greater 
influence than he; not even Hancock or Adams. He 
was the very soul of that resistance which was rising 
in grandeur and power, at last to overleap its bounds, 
like another Niagara, and sweep away the foreign in- 
vaders as with the besom of destruction. 

Soon after delivering the oration referred to above, 
Dr. "Warren was elected Chairman of the Committee 
of Public Safety, and President of the Provincial Con- 
gress of Massachusetts. This, while it indicated the 
public confidence in him, added greatly to his labors 
and responsibilities, elevated him as a more prominent 
mark for the enemy, and increased the danger which 
constantly surrounded him. Previous to the battles of 
Lexington and Concord, on the 19th of April, 1775, 
Warren kept a steady eye on the movements of the 
British troops in Boston, that he might give early 
notice to his friends in the country if an attempt 
should be made, as was anticipated, to capture the 
military stores at the above-named places. The strict- 
est precautionary measures were taken by the British 
to conceal their plans and movements; but an intima- 
tion of their intentions had been given to the Ameri- 
cans, it is said., by a patriotic lady, the wife of a 
royalist officer. It was not the only occasion, during 
the Kevolutionary War, that the patriots were indebted 
to a woman for timely information of vast importance. 
A Quaker lady of Philadelphia, while the British were 
in possession of that city, at great personal risk, man- 
aged to communicate such intelligence to the army of 
Washington, a,s saved a portion of it from capture by 
the enemy. Dr. Warren was fortunate in having just 



16 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

such a friend, and very important consequences resulted 
from the information thus obtained. 

On the evening of the 18th of April, Dr. Warren 
dispatched two young men, by the name of Eevere and 
Dawes, to warn his friends in the country that the 
British troops in the city were on the eve of a move- 
ment toward Concord. He followed, himself, either 
during the night or early the next morning. He was, 
doubtless, closely watched in his movements by the 
British tools which surrounded him ; but by some means 
he contrived to elude their vigilance. The detachment 
of the enemy ordered to this service reached Lexing- 
ton and Concord on their errand of destruction, but 
they found the citizen soldiers thoroughly aroused, and 
prepared to dispute, even with disciplined British reg- 
ulars, for their rights, and peril life and limb in defense 
of their families and firesides. The enemy learned, in 
that, their first lesson, that the patriot-fathers of this 
country 

"Had hands that could strike, they had souls that could dare, 
And their sons were not born to be slaves 1 " 

Without discipline, or concert, or order, the sturdy 
patriots, from behind rocks, and fences, and trees, 
poured in a well-directed fire upon the marauding 
enemy, until they were glad to commence a retrograde 
movement. But the patriots could follow as well as 
fight, and on either flank of the retreating Britons a 
line of fire moved as rapidly as their columns, and each 
trusty musket brought down its victim. The road 
along which the enemy passed was strewn with the 
wounded and the dead, until the worn and dispirited 



JOSEPH WARREN. 17 

troops began to think it was their last march. In this 
condition they were met by a detachment of their 
friends, a thousand strong, who had been sent from 
Boston to their rescue ; had it not been for this timely 
assistance, scarcely a man would have escaped death 
or capture. Dr. "Warren was in West Cambridge when 
the British reached that place on their return, in the 
after part of the day. He armed himself and went 
out, in company with General Heath, to meet them, 
and try his hand in the doubtful strife. This was his 
first practical lesson in war, and he exposed himself to 
the fire of the enemy with the fearlessness of a veteran. 
During the skirmish, we are informed "a bullet passed 
so near his head as to carry away one of the long, 
close, horizontal curls, which, agreeably to the fashion 
of the day, he wore about his ears." It was a narrow 
escape, but Providence reserved him for farther service 
and a more glorious death. This was the result of his 
first meeting with the enemy of his country in open 
hostility; would that the second meeting had been as 
harmless. 

On the 14th of June, 1775, three days before the 
conflict on Bunker Hill, Dr. Warren was elected by 
the Provincial Congress of Massachusetts a Major- 
General. This was an evidence of the high opinion 
entertained of him by the sages and patriots of that 
day. Without a military education, and without mili- 
tary experience, he was placed at once in the highest 
official rank of the army ; but the crown of honor and 
the crown of martyrdom were gained in quick succes- 
sion. 

It was fortunate for the country that, when the 



18 MASONIC EIOGEAPHY. 

Revolution dawned, and the great drama of war was 
opened, there were men to be found' who had some ex- 
perience in the rugged art. The march, the bivouac, 
and the battle, were yet familiar to many who had, 
under the banner of Old England, met the Indians 
and the French on many a bloody field. In New 
England were Wooster, and Prescott, and Heath, and 
Pomeroy, and Stark, and Putnam, and many of lesser 
note. These, though mostly in middle life, and some 
in advanced years, were ready to buckle on their swords 
afresh, and grapple with the giant power which now 
threatened to crush the liberties of their own native 
land. They had long ago laid aside the implements 
of war, and were engaged in the quiet and peaceful 
pursuits of private life. The thunder of the guns at 
Lexington and Concord went echoing through the hills 
and valleys of New England, and to these old heroes 
of other days it was like the sound of a battle-trumpet 
to the war-horse Heath was already at hand, and 
probably Ward was near. Stark, the hero of Benning- 
ton, and Stillwater, and Trenton — Stark heard the din 
of the distant onset at his quiet home away up in the 
mountains of New Hampshire. In ten minutes he was 
on the road, riding with headlong speed for the scene 
of strife, and calling out the Minute-men on his way 
to meet him there. Putnam, him of the Wolf's den, 
was on his farm down in Connecticut. He was plow- 
ing in his field when a man on horseback, beating a 
drum, came dashing down the road and shouting of 
the strife and bloodshed of Concord ! Putnam stopped 
his team, listened to the thrilling intelligence, unyoked 
his oxen where the plow stood in the furrow, sent his 



JOSEPH WARREN. 19 

son to the house to inform his family, and without 
changing his clothes, or securing his dinner, mounted 
a horse and spurred away at his swiftest pace to join 
his countrymen before Boston! Such were the men 
who first drew sword for freedom when the conflict 
began — the companions and the compeers of the illus- 
trious Warren. 

But before we proceed to the scenes of Bunker Hill 
with Warren, let us go back and bring up the history 
of his Masonic career, and we shall be better able to 
understand and appreciate the story of his death, and 
the detail of circumstances connected with it. 

Masonry was introduced into America at a very 
early period, and there were, doubtless, many brethren 
scattered through the country, and especially connected 
with the British army, long anterior to the establish- 
ment of organized Lodges. It is very probable, also, 
that the labors of the Craft were pursued before there 
was a chartered Lodge in the country. It was not 
until 1717 that Charters were required in the economy 
of the Order; previous to that year a Lodge might be 
convened, and legitimately transact business whenever 
a sufficient number of Masons, of the requisite skill, 
could be collected together in a suitable place. After 
that period all the new Lodges (the four old ones then 
existing in London were permitted to continue work 
by virtue of immemorial usage,) were required to pro- 
cure Charters before they could legally pursue the 
labors of the Craft. 

On the 30th of April, 1733, Lord Montague, then 
Grand Master of Masons in England, issued a charter 
for a Provincial Grand Lodge in Boston, and designated 



20 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

Henry Price as Grand Master, with full power to ap- 
point the necessary subordinate officers to constitute a 
Grand Lodge. This body convened on the 30th of July, 
1733 ; and, on the petition of a number of brethren in 
Boston, granted the first charter issued to St. John's 
Lodge. This was the first chartered Lodge in New En- 
gland, (and probably in America,) and we believe it is 
still in existence under the same name. Other Lodges 
were subsequently organized under the same authority, 
and some, also, by the Grand Lodge of Scotland ; among 
the latter was St. Andrew's Lodge, in the City of Boston, 
the Masonic alma mater of the Martyr of Bunker Hill. 

General Warren was initiated into Masonry in St. 
Andrew's Lodge, in Boston, on the 10th day of Septem- 
ber, 1761. He received the second degree on the 2d of 
November following, but did not obtain the degree of 
Master Mason until the 28th of November, 1765 — nearly 
four years after his initiation. This was in conformity 
with the spirit and practice of the times. Candidates 
were not then hurried through as now, in three months. 
It was not unusual for them to wait a year for the sec- 
ond degree ; and, perhaps, three or four, or even longer, 
for the third. Faithful service, and an ample proficiency, 
were then considered essential to promotion or advance- 
ment. 

Warren remained a member of St. Andrew's Lodge, 
we believe, as long as he lived, and the records of his 
connection with it are still extant in its archives. So 
efficient was he in the acquisition of Masonic knowledge, 
and so highly was he esteemed as a Mason, that, in De- 
cember, 1769, he received a commission, dated on the 
30th of May in that year, from the Earl of Dalhousie, 



JOSEPH WARREN. 21 

Grand Master of Masons in Scotland, appointing him 
Provincial Grand Master of Masons in Boston and within 
one hundred miles of the same. It will be observed that 
the Grand Lodges of England and Scotland both had 
Provincial Grand Lodges in Massachusetts. This was 
not regarded as a conflict of jurisdiction; as the Grand 
Lodges of England, Scotland, and Ireland have always 
exercised the privilege of establishing Lodges in any of 
the Provinces of the British Empire. 

The Earl of Dumfries succeeded Dalhousie as Grand 
Master of Scotland, and from him Warren received an- 
other appointment, dated the 7th of March, 1772. This 
new commission constituted him " Grand Master of Ma- 
sons for the Continent of America," thereby extending 
his jurisdiction much beyond the original limits. He 
was Grand Master, not in the sense we use that term 
at this day, as elected to preside over a Grand Lodge, 
but as a Provincial Grand Master, holding his authority 
from the Grand Lodge, or Grand Master, in Scotland, 
and acting in the stead of that power within the limits 
of his jurisdiction. 

Doctor Warren was most attentive and active in the 
discharge of his highly responsible Masonic duties. The 
meetings of his Provincial Grand Lodge were much more 
frequent than the meetings of Grand Lodges at the pres- 
ent day ; yet the records, still preserved, show that from 
the time of his appointment until the year 1775, he was 
in attendance upon every session of that body. It must 
be recollected, too, that during all this time he was en- 
gaged in a very extensive practice as a physician, and, 
for the last three or four years, deeply involved, and 
extremely active in the political agitations of the times. 



22 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

Added to all, lie had lost his wife about six years after 
marriage, and he was left in the sole charge of four 
motherless children. These facts attest the restless ac- 
tivity of his nature, which was the secret of his mighty 
labors and wondrous achievements. His untiring zeal 
in the cause of Masonry, and his devotion to the best 
interests of the Craft, won for him the highest regard 
of the whole body of Masons. "With the peaceful in- 
struments of the Order he was writing his name, not 
only upon the hearts of his brethren, but high upon the 
columns of our mystic temple, as indelibly as he after- 
ward wrote it with his sword on Bunker Hill. Forget- 
ful of his own ease and interests, he consecrated himself 
to his Craft and his country, with a self-fbrgetfulness 
and a self-abnegation rarely, if ever, equaled in the his- 
tory of humanity in any country. We will add, j ust here, 
that Major Small, of the British army, whom we shall 
have occasion to mention hereafter, was also a Mason, 
and had, doubtless, met the Grand Master in the Lodge, 
and felt for him a warm personal attachment. What 
a misfortune that political differences and national wars 
should place in hostile relations those whose genial 
souls, under other circumstances, 

" Like kindred drops, had mingled into one ! " 

Yet such is sometimes the case, and was frequently in 
the war of the Revolution; but even under these em- 
barrassing circumstances, Masons need not be forgetful 
of their fraternal relations : we shall see that some were 
not, amid the dreadful carnage of Bunker Hill, where 
Warren closed his brilliant and eventful life. 

We have seen our illustrious brother, with commend- 



JOSEPH WARREN". 23 

able patience and untiring perseverance, bearing the 
burdens of an Entered Apprentice, toiling in the quarries 
as a Fellow Craft, and pressing on undauntedly until he 
gained admission to the holy of holies of our mystic 
temple. "We have witnessed his faithful labors in, and 
unwearied devotion to, the Koyal Art; and we have 
found in his case, as in others, that merit does not long 
go unrewarded. We have seen him invested with the 
responsibilities of office, and marked his unfaltering devo- 
tion to its duties ; and as a reward for his services, we 
have seen the highest honors of the Order conferred 
upon him — unexpected and unsolicited. He wore those 
honors meekly, but he wore them worthily. The laurel 
wreath twined gracefully around his brow, but it was 
soon to be exchanged for a coronet set with brighter 
gems — "a crown that fadeth not away." Now come 
with us while we view the closing scenes of his glorious 
life. 

In the early summer of 1775, Boston was the center 
of British power in New England. The troops were 
in possession of the town, and the fleet of the harbor. 
Lord Percy was there, and General Gage, and General 
Burgoyne; and, like a lion, conscious of his strength, 
and waiting for his prey, the army was intending to 
crush the infant rebellion at a single blow. The timely 
and terrible lesson they had been taught at Lexington 
and Concord, had only served to awaken their energies, 
and nerve their determination to conquer whenever it 
came to blows, and whatever it might cost. But the 
acts of the British Parliament, and the doomed determ- 
ination of their master on the throne of England, to 
coerce submission in the Colonies, had driven the people 



24 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

to a united resistance. A circle of fire was closing around 
that English army, and the lion was soon to be " bearded 
in his den." 

New England was yet acting, in its armed resist- 
ance, almost or quite alone. She had called on her 
hardy sons to repel aggression by force. Gradually an 
army was being concentrated in the vicinity of Boston 
to watch the enemy, and prevent his excursions for 
plunder or for blood. The call for volunteers had been 
heard in every valley and village east of the Hudson, 
and from the mountains and the plains, from the 
pleasant farms and the village shops, from the log- 
cabins among the hills, and the fisherman's huts along 
the streams, there went back an answering cry, "We 
come ! " Eusty and dilapidated fire-locks were re- 
paired, old muskets, which the fathers had carried 
against the French and Indians twenty years before, 
were taken down by the sons, and burnished up anew; 
mothers and daughters aided their sons, and husbands, 
and brothers, in their preparations ; and all New Eng- 
land was aglow with patriotism — resolved to preserve 
their freedom and protect their firesides, or perish in 
the effort. 

Quite an army had collected in Cambridge and the 
vicinity ; the materials were rude and undisciplined, it 
is true, but they were sturdy and strong. But few had 
ever seen service in the field, but they knew how to 
draw a trigger, and could hit the mark at any reason- 
able distance. All they needed was discipline and 
practice, and in the defense of their homes and hearth- 
stones the world could not produce their equals as 
soldiers. Accustomed to an active and healthful in- 



JOSEPH WAEEEN. 25 

dustry, and breathing the pure air of their native hills, 
they excelled in physical strength and in powers of 
endurance. They had some among them, too, who had 
been trained and disciplined in the art of war, and who 
had seen much of active service in by-gone years; in- 
deed, all the trophies that England had ever won on 
this continent, had been secured by the valor of her 
provincial troops. Among these old heroes of other 
days, who still survived, there were already with the 
army Generals Ward and Heath, who knew how to 
command as well as to obey. Colonels Putnam, and 
Prescott, and Stark, and Pomeroy, and Knowlton, and 
I know not how many more, were there, competent for 
any position, and prepared for any emergency. 

General "Ward had been invested with supreme com- 
mand of the troops, and had his head-quarters at Cam- 
bridge — although Putnam, as a veteran in years and 
experience, was, practically, the commander-in-chief. 
He was as shrewd as he was brave; never at a loss for 
resources; prompt in all his movements, and with a 
soul that caught fire at the first flash of powder. He 
was a Mason, too, and so was Prescott, the next in 
command, and his equal in valor. Stark was there 
also, tall and straight, like the pines which grew around 
his mountain home, and with an eye that flashed like 
the eagle's which soared above them. But we may not 
speak of all, for this is neither the time nor place. 

The Committee of Safety, to which body was tem- 
porarily intrusted the direction of public affairs, had 
convened for consultation; and the general officers of 
the army, composing a council of war, met with the 
Committee, to advise and decide upon future move- 



26 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

ments. In this meeting it was proposed that the army 
should occupy and fortify the Hights of Charlestown. 
This movement was advocated by the veterans Putnam 
and Prescott, while Warren, young and ardent as he 
was, threw all his influence against it. There were, at 
that time, only eleven barrels of powder in possession 
of the army, and there were but thirty-seven in the 
whole Province of Massachusetts! Warren deemed it 
imprudent, while such a well-disciplined and well- 
equipped British army lay in Boston, backed by a 
powerful fleet, to make any movement that would prob- 
ably bring on a general engagement, until the American 
troops were better provided with the munitions of war. 
His opposition to the occupancy of the Hights was 
the dictate of prudence — not of fear, as subsequent 
events amply proved. He was overruled, however, in 
the council, and it was determined to anticipate the 
British, and fortify Bunker, or Breed's Hill. As we 
have already seen, Warren had just been appointed a 
Major- General; he had received his commission, but 
knew nothing, practically, of the art of war, while a 
crisis was rapidly approaching which required skill 
and experience as well as valor. Although it was not 
necessary for him to move, with that portion of the 
army which was detailed to take possession of the 
Hights, yet he declared his determination to share in 
its perils, although he had given his voice against the 
measure. 

On the evening of the 16th of June, a little before 
sunset, about twelve hundred troops were paraded on 
the common, in front of General Ward's quarters, 
under the command of the veteran Colonel Prescott, 



JOSEPH WARREN. 27 

who was to lead them on their desperate enterprise. 
Each man was provided with a blanket, and provisions 
for twenty-four hours, but not one of the privates knew 
the object of the expedition. They had unlimited con- 
fidence, however, in their officers, and were willing to 
follow where they dared to lead. President Langdon, 
of Harvard College, offered up public prayers in their 
behalf, and then those pioneers of liberty set off to dare 
the whole British army, and open the drama of a seven 
years' war. 

At nine o'clock, the detachment started, led by Colonel 
Prescott, and on their way they were joined by General 
Putnam, with the necessary intrenching tools. With- 
out beat of drum, cautiously and silently, to avoid dis- 
covery by the enemy, they proceeded to Breed's Hill, 
which being nearer to Boston, was deemed preferable 
for an intrenchment to Bunker Hill. Colonel Gridley 
marked out the ground; the men stacked their guns, 
threw off their packs, and began their labor. It was 
midnight when the first spadeful of earth was thrown 
up. It was solemn work, for what might not the 
morning bring forth ! How many hearts in that pa- 
triot band were tumultuous with emotions — new, and 
strange, and stirring! How many thought of their 
quiet homes, of their aged parents, who were invoking 
heaven in their behalf, of their wives and loved ones, 
whom they might see no more! And then, relying 
upon the justice of their cause, they breathed a prayer 
to the God of battles, and plied their spades again. 
It was a warm, calm, summer's night; the watching 
stars shone down ljke celestial sentinels on guard, while 
Freedom's sons were throwing up bulwarks against the 



28 MASONIC BIOGEAPHY. 

aggressor. Not a sound was heard; not a word was 
uttered above a whisper. The spirits of Tully and 
Turrene, of Tell and Hampden, may have looked down 
in approving wonder at the scene ! 

The day dawned at last, and with the first gray of the 
morning, a sailor on board the Lively, the British ship 
of war which lay nearest the shore, casting his eyes 
landward and up the hill-side, discovered on its brow, 
and running down on each side, from its crest to the 
water, an embankment, behind which the citizen-soldiers 
were still busy with pick and spade. It had grown up 
in a few hours since the preceding sunset, as if by en- 
chantment, and was ominous of battle and bloodshed. 
Upon the fact being reported to the captain, he at once, 
without orders, promptly opened his broadside upon the 
intrenchments : he might as well have bombarded the 
moon ; and the thunder of his guns only seemed a salute 
to the advancing army of Freedom. The rest of the 
fleet, as well as a floating battery, immediately joined 
in the morning's exercise; but the only effect of their 
martial efforts was to awaken Boston, and tell General 
Gage there was work for him. With his spy-glass in 
hand, he proceeded to Copp's Hill to examine into this 
new wonder. Carefully scanning the work, the tall 
commanding person of Colonel Prescott arrested his at- 
tention, and he inquired of a bystander, who happened 
to be Prescott "s brother-in-law, — "Who is that officer 
who appears in command?" "It is Colonel Prescott," 
said Mr. Willard, who. promptly recognized his relative. 
" Will he fight? " asked Gage, quickly. " Yes sir," was 
the reply, "he is an old soldier, and will fight to the last 
drop of blood ; but I can not answer for his men." " The 



JOSEPH WARREN. 29 

works must be carried," sternly answered Gage, as he 
closed his glass and strode off to give the necessary 
orders. But it was not so easy a task as he anticipated. 

I need not say that Warren was beloved by the people 
of Boston, and of Massachusetts; he was the idol of 
popular affection. The few friends who knew of his 
determination to be present at the expected struggle on 
Bunker Hill, earnestly importuned him to change his 
purpose ; they knew the conflict would be a bloody one ; 
for Putnam and Prescott, the chivalry of New England, 
commanded in the intrenchments, and the enemy were 
five times their number. Warren's life was too valuable 
to the cause to be needlessly ventured in the strife — 
for he was in himself a host, and was more dreaded by 
the English authorities than any other man in the Col- 
ony. As already stated, he was President of the Provin- 
cial Council, then in session at Watertown, and Chairman 
of the Committee of Safety. He was young, active, and 
daring. His influence with his countrymen was almost 
unbounded; and in the resources of his great mind and 
lofty patriotism his country possessed a treasure beyond 
estimate, and a power equal to armed hosts. 

The great drama of the Revolution was just opening. 
A long, and fierce, and unequal struggle was about to 
commence, which should eventuate in yet deeper thral- 
dom, or in glorious victory and rational freedom. The 
stakes to be lost and won were such as no nation had ever 
battled for before. It was not simply the venture of a 
triumph or defeat on Bunker Hill ; it was not the pos- 
session of Boston by the king's troops or the New En- 
gland militia; it was not the collection of certain taxes 
for the Royal Exchequer, nor even the government of 



30 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

Massachusetts, that was at issue. It was a principle — - 
a principle involving all these, it is true, yet much more 
than all these, the destinies of a continent were at stake ; 
the trial of strength was to settle the question whether 
George the Third, a weak-minded king at three thou- 
sand miles distance, surrounded by ambitious and cor- 
rupt advisers, was to be master here; or whether the 
people should select their own rulers, make their own 
laws, and levy their own taxes. The freedom or slavery, 
not only of that generation, but of millions that were to 
come after them, was suspended upon the result of the 
conflict which was that day to begin in blood on Bunker 
Hill. Men were few, and especially such men as Joseph 
Warren. Should he fall, it would be difficult to repair 
the loss; his death would be a public calamity, which 
would be felt from the granite hills of New Hampshire 
to the rice plantations of Georgia. No wonder, then, 
his friends, who best knew his value, plead with him to 
remain out of harm's way ! 

Warren had passed the night in transacting public 
business at Watertown, where the Congress was in 
session, and at daylight, on the morning of the 17th, 
he rode to head-quarters at Cambridge, and immediately 
retired to take some repose, as he was unwell — probably- 
induced by loss of sleep, fatigue, and anxiety. It was 
the last he took, until he found it in the grave. When 
information was received that the British were moving 
to attack the Americans on Bunker Hill, General Ward 
sent a message to Warren, advising him of the fact. 
He rose immediately, declared that his headache was 
gone, and went to attend a meeting of the Committee 
of Safety. At this meeting it would seem that Warren 



JOSEPH WARREN. 31 

again intimated his determination to share the fortunes 
of the day with Putnam and Prescott on Bunker Hill. 
Elbridge Gerry, one of the Committee, who entertained 
the same opinion as did Warren, as to the imprudence 
of the attempt to occupy the Hights ; " earnestly re- 
quested him not to expose his person/' by taking part 
in the approaching battle. "It is not worth while/' 
said Gerry, "for you to be present; it will be madness 
for you to expose yourself where your destruction will 
be almost inevitable. Your ardent temper will carry 
you forward into the midst of peril, and you will prob- 
ably fall!" "I know I may fall," said Warren, "but 
I live within the sound of their cannon; how could I 
hear their roaring in so glorious a cause, and not be 
there?" Again Mr. Gerry remonstrated, and added: 
u As surely as you go there, you will be slain." Warren, 
with great enthusiasm, and with his countenance glow- 
ing with the very spirit of patriotism, replied, "Where 
is the man who does not think it glorious to die for 
his country?" at the same time quoting the Latin, 

"Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori." 
It is sweet and becoming to die for the country. 

Such was the language of the patriot Grand Master, 
on the morning of that memorable day, — as usual, for- 
getting self, and all of self's interests, but remembering 
his country, even to the sacrifice of his life : and mount- 
ing his horse in hot haste, he rode off to the field of 
glory, alas! to exemplify the quotation, and "die for 
his country." 

A few moments before the commencement of the 
action, while the confident and well-appointed British 



32 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

troops, several thousand strong, under General Howa 
in person, fresh and vigorous from rest and plenty, 
were pouring in a living tide from their barges, and 
marshalling on the shore; while the half-exhausted 
Americans, who had marched and toiled all night and 
half the day, were lying behind their hastily-con- 
structed breastworks, and waiting for the onset; while 
the anxious multitudes of deeply interested spectators 
in Boston and Charlestown, and on every surrounding 
hill and house-top, were waiting with breathless sus- 
pense for the opening of the fearful drama ; and while 
the fleet in the harbor, and the fort on Copp's Hill, 
and the floating batteries in the river were pouring 
their tremendous broadsides into the devoted redoubt, 
and the barricades of hay and fence-rails, and every 
heart among the many thousands beat and thrilled 
with unutterable emotions, — a horseman, of slight make 
and fair form, was seen advancing from Charlestown neck 
at full speed toward the American works. He had to 
cross Bunker Hill to reach the principal intrenchments, 
which were beyond it, on Breed's Hill. The prudent 
forethought of Putnam had induced him to detach a 
portion of his men to throw up a slight defense on 
Bunker Hill, to serve as a rallying point for his raw 
levies, should they be driven from their principal de- 
fenses. Putnam, at this juncture, happened to be 
there, and as the horseman gained the crest of Bunker 
Hill, General Putnam rode forward to meet him. He 
at once recognized the young Major- General, Warren, 
who had come, unexpectedly to Putnam, but agreeably 
to his expressed determination, to take part in the en- 
gagement as a volunteer. 



JOSEPH WAEREI!?. 33 

Putnam was a rough old soldier, but a kind-hearted, 
chivalric, and noble man. On approaching and recog- 
nizing the new-comer, he exclaimed, "General "Warren, 
is it you? I rejoice, and yet I regret to see you. 
Your life is too precious to be exposed in this battle ; 
but since you are here, I will take your orders ! " 
"General Putnam," replied the youthful hero, "I have 
no orders to give. You have made your arrangements ; 
I come to aid you as a volunteer. Tell me where I 
can be useful." "Go, then, to the redoubt, you will 
there be covered," responded Putnam. " I came not 
to be covered," returned Warren, half reproachfully; 
"tell me where I shall be most in danger — tell me 
where the action will be hottest." "The redoubt," 
said Putnam, "will be the enemy's object. If that 
can be defended, the day is ours." At this Warren 
immediately continued his way to the redoubt on 
Breed's Hill. As soon as the troops there discovered, 
they knew him, although he was not in uniform, and 
greeted him with shouts of welcome. Colonel Prescott 
commanded there, and immediately proposed that War- 
ren should assume his right to command, while he 
would serve. Warren nobly answered, " No, Colonel 
Prescott, give me your orders; give me a musket. I 
have come to take a lesson of a veteran in the art of 
war!" 

Near three o'clock, in the afternoon, the battle com- 
menced. We shall not attempt a description, for we have 
not the capacity, even were it desirable; and it is un- 
necessary, as most of our readers are familiar with its 
details. Led by Generals Howe and Pigot, the British 
advanced in good order, and discharging their pieces at 



34 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

every few steps. They entertained a profound contempt 
for the powers of the American militia, and supposed 
they would scamper off like so many frightened sheep 
as soon as the balls began to whistle about them. But 
they were mistaken. Putnam had issued positive orders 
to his men to lie close behind their defenses, and not to 
fire a gun until ordered — they had but little ammunition, 
and none to throw away. Still the enemy advanced, and 
still the Americans reserved their fire. A death-like 
silence reigned in the intrenchments ; but each musket 
was pointed, and along it flashed an eye fixed upon its 
mark, and at each trigger there was a finger, and they 
only waited for the word — but no word was given ! The 
eagle-eye of Putnam was fixed upon the advancing hosts, 
while his great soul swelled with the thoughts of country 
and freedom. Warren was in the redoubt, musket in 
hand, as obedient as a private soldier, and coolly waiting 
to do, as he had already dared. On came the British, 
gaining confidence at each step of an easy victory. At 
length they reached the desired proximity — forty paces. 
Putnam now felt they were within his power, and he 
uttered a single word that moved every man along the 
line of intrenchments. Sudden as the lightning's flash, 
a sheet of flame ran all along the defenses, and a tempest 
of leaden balls smote the confident British like the sword 
of the avenging angel ! Whole ranks and companies 
went down, as though earth had opened to receive them. 
The British paused a moment, but those in the rear again 
advanced over their fallen comrades. Another sheet of 
flame opened on them — another storm of bullets, and 
other hundreds bit the dust. The enemy paused, wa- 
vered a moment, recoiled, then bent up again, but could 



• JOSEPH WAEEEN. 35 

not wait for a third discharge. The ranks broke, and, 
in defiance of the utmost efforts of their officers, they 
rushed down the hill, and out of the range of that mur- 
derous fire. And then a good hearty shout went up 
from behind that breastwork, which was echoed and 
re-echoed from hill and house-top as far as it could be 
heard; and then all was still again. 

The British troops were quickly re-formed, and under 
the command of officers unused to defeat, again com- 
menced the assault. But the fire was now not alone from 
the assaulting party; the whole fleet, and all the forts 
and batteries within reach belched forth their thunder 
at the point of attack, and Charlestown was set on fire to 
dismay and confuse the Americans. Such a scene, for 
awful sublimity and appalling grandeur, was, probably, 
never witnessed before. General Burgoyne, who saw 
and heard it from Boston, wrote to a friend: "Sure I 
am nothing ever has or ever can be more dreadfully 
terrible than what was to be seen and heard at this 
time: the most incessant discharge of guns that ever 
was heard by mortal ears." But still that devoted little 
band of patriots quailed not. Still as death they lay, 
waiting the second attack, and like the lion crouching 
for the fatal spring, ready to hurl a second storm of death 
into the ranks of the enemy. 

Again the British, in serried ranks, dashed up the 
hill, pouring in a constant discharge, and once more con- 
fident of success. Again the Americans reserved their 
fire until the enemy had almost reached the breastworks, 
when suddenly they opened again, and volley after volley 
was poured into their very faces, until the ranks of the 
English melted away like snow-flakes under an August 



36 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

sun. No troops on earth could stand it, and the whole 
attacking forces broke and fled in utter confusion and 
dismay. Over a thousand of the enemy were either 
killed or wounded during these two brief assaults. 

At the second repulse of the British, an incident is 
stated to have occurred, which is directly connected with 
the fate of "Warren. 

Major Small, of the British army, and our own Gen- 
eral Putnam, had been fellow soldiers in the former wars 
against the French, and had contracted a friendship, in 
camp and lodge, that even political animosities could 
not destroy. After the fire from the American works 
had the second time taken such terrible effect upon the 
advancing columns of the English, Major Small, who 
was in the advance, remained unhurt, but almost alone, 
amid the hundreds that fell around him. His nearly 
solitary position and brilliant dress formed a conspicuous 
mark for our riflemen within the redoubt. They had 
already pointed their guns, and, in another minute, he 
would have been numbered with his bleeding comrades. 
At this moment, Putnam recognized his friend, and see- 
ing his imminent danger, though he was a Briton, sprang 
forward, and threw himself before the levelled muskets 
of his soldiers. "Spare that officer, my gallant com- 
rades," said the old hero, "we are friends — we are 
brothers ! " This appeal was sufficient, and Major Small 
retired unhurt from the scene of carnage. This anec- 
dote rests upon well-attested authority, and is, most, 
probably, true. General Putnam, it will be seen, saved 
the life of Major Small — his brother: future events in 
the action showed how Small appreciated the act, and 
endeavored, though without success, to repay it in kind. 



JOSEPH WARREN. 37 

But the British rallied again, and their next effort 
was successful, for they had been largely reinforced 
from Boston, and, besides, they had discovered the 
vulnerable point in the defenses. Destitute of ammu- 
nition or bayonets, and overwhelmed by numbers, the 
gallant Americans were compelled, though reluctantly, 
to retreat. They fought, however, to the last, and only 
quitted their intrenchments when the enemy were in 
possession, and fighting hand to hand, with clubbed 
muskets against British bayonets and four times their 
numbers. To yield, under such circumstances, was no 
dishonor. General Warren remained in the redoubt 
until the enemy had entered it, and was one of the last 
to retreat, and then with reluctance. He had come 
upon the field, as he said, to take a lesson in the stern 
art of war from the veteran Colonel Prescott, and all 
must admit that he obtained a- severe and thorough 
one. He was slowly retreating, and only a few rods 
from the works when the whole British forces passed 
the breastwork, thus placing him in most imminent 
danger. It was at this critical moment that Major 
Small, whose life Putnam had saved not an hour before, 
attempted in turn to preserve the life of "Warren. 
Small knew him well, for they had doubtless often met 
as Masons, and seeing his imminently dangerous posi- 
tion, called out to him by name, and requested him to 
surrender, at the same time ordering his men to cease 
firing. Warren heard his name called by some one, 
and turned his head, as if he recognized the voice; 
but it was too late. That moment, as his face was 
turned to the enemy, a ball struck him on the forehead 
and he fell to the earth, dead ! These facts are given 



38 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

upon the testimony of Major Small himself, and are 
doubtless correct. 

" And thus," says an eminent historian, "to Warren, 
distinguished among the bravest, wisest, and best of the 
patriotic band, was assigned, in the inscrutable decrees 
of Providence, the crown of early martyrdom. It be- 
comes not human frailty to murmur at the will of 
heaven ; the blood of martyrs has been, in all ages, the 
nourishing rain of religion and liberty." We may add 
that though Warren was removed at the moment when, 
in human judgment, he was most needed, and when all 
eyes were turned upon him as a leader in the Ameri- 
can Israel, and the brightest luminary that shone in 
the galaxy of New England worthies, yet indulgent 
Providence provided for the emergency. On that very 
day, and most probably at that very hour, Congress, 
m session at Philadelphia, four hundred miles distant, 
elected George Washington to the command of the 
American armies. If He took from us a Warren,. He 
gave us a Washington at the very moment, to supply 
his place. 

So ended the sanguinary contest on Bunker Hill. 
The British gained and kept possession of the intrench- 
ments, but the victory belonged to the Americans, for 
the enemy lost almost as many men as were engaged 
in the battle on the side of freedom. 

The poet, Epes Sargent, has finely commemorated 
the sad catastrophe of Bunker Hill, in the following 
beautiful stanzas: 

"When the war-cry of liberty rang through the land, 
To arms sprang our fathers, the foe to withstand; 



JOSEPH WARREN. 39 

On old Bunker Hill, their intrenchments they rear, 

When the army is joined by a young volunteer; 

1 Tempt not death,' cried his friends ; but he bade them good-by, 

Saying, ' O ! it is sweet for our country to die ! ' 

"The tempest of battle now rages and swells, 
'Mid the thunder of cannon, the ringing of bells ; 
And a light, not of battle, illumes yonder spire, 
Scene of woe! — scene of woe! it is Charlestown on fire! 
The young volunteer heedeth not the sad cry, 
But murmurs, ''tis sweet for our country to die!' 

"With trumpets and banners the foe draweth near; 
A volley of musketry checks their career! 
With the dead and the dying the hillside is strown, 
And the shout through our line is, 'The day is our own! 
' Not yet ! ' cries the young volunteer — ' do they fly ; 
'Stand firm! O! it's sweet for our country to die!' 

" Now our powder is spent, and they rally again ; 
'Retreat,' says our chief, 'since unarmed we remain:' 
But the young volunteer lingers yet on the field, 
Reluctant to fly, and disdaining to yield. 
A shot! ah! he falls! but his life's latest sigh 
Is, ''tis sweet, O! 'tis sweet for our country to die! 

" And thus Warren fell ! Happy death, noble fall, 
To perish for country at Liberty's call ! 
Should the flag of invasion profane evermore 
The blue of our seas, or the green of our shore, 
May the hearts of our people re-echo the cry : 
' Tis sweet! O! 'tis sweet for our country to die!" 

We have thus briefly sketched the life and death of 
the illustrious Warren; now let us follow him to the 
grave, and note the tributes of Masonic affection paid to 
his memory ; for the genius of Masonry forgets not even 
the ashes of her sainted dead. 



40 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

From a letter written soon after the battle by Mrs. 
Adams, the wife of John Adams, to her husband, then 
in Congress at Philadelphia, we make the following ex- 
tract in relation to the fallen patriot : 

"We heard from a deserter that our valued friend, 
Warren (dear to us, even in death,) was not treated 
with any more respect than the common soldier; but 
the savage wretches called officers, consulted together, 
and agreed to sever his head from his body, and carry 
it in triumph to Gage, [the British General.] What hu- 
manity could not obtain, the rites and ceremonies of a 
Mason demanded. An officer, who, it seems, was one 
of the Brotherhood, requested that, as a Mason, he 
might have the body unmangled, and find a decent in- 
terment for it. He obtained his request, but, upon re- 
turning to secure it, he found it already thrown into 
the earth, only with the ceremony of being first placed 
there, with many bodies over him." 

If this statement be authentic, and that it was, sub- 
stantially, we have no reason to doubt, it shows that 
Masonic influence was not in abeyance, even in that 
gloomy hour. It is not intimated who the officer was 
who thus interfered for the protection of the body of the 
Grand Master, but it would not be hazardous to suppose 
it to have been Major Small. His good intentions, how- 
ever, were frustrated in part, for Warren shared the 
grave of his soldiers who fought and fell at his side. 

Nothing could be done toward recovering his remains 
while the British troops were in Boston, and the city 
closely invested by Washington ; but the enemy having 
been driven to their ships early in April of the fol- 
lowing spring, an effort was made to recover the body; 



JOSEPH WARREN. 41 

and, after strict and- diligent search, it was found buried 
near the brow of the hill on which he fell, and fully 
identified by Dr. Jeffries, General Winslow, and others 
of his friends, by an artificial tooth, and other infallible 
marks. On the 8th of April the Craft assembled to 
give the remains of their honored Grand Master a more 
decent interment. A procession was formed, and the 
body was raised and carried to the State House, and 
from thence to King's Chapel, where a most solemn and 
eloquent oration was delivered by Brother Perez Morton, 
after which it was buried in the Granary Burial-ground, 
with all the impressive rituals and formulas of the Order. 

After the battles of the Eevolution were over, and 
peace had again visited the land, the family of General 
"Warren once more disinterred his remains, and removed 
them to St. Paul's Church, where they yet remain. 
Every Mason will understand our allusion, when we 
refer to the fact, that the body of the illustrious Grand 
Master was three several times buried : first, on the brow 
of the hill, where he fell a martyr to his integrity and 
love of country ; secondly, in the public burial-ground, 
where he was laid with Masonic ceremonies ; and lastly, 
by his family and friends, near St. Paul's Church — the 
Temple consecrated to the worship of the true God I 

On the 8th of April, 1777, it was ordered by the Con- 
tinental Congress, that a monument should be erected 
to the memory of General Warren, in the town of Bos- 
ton ; but, like many other things that Congress resolves, 
it was never done. But though politicians and place- 
men neglected their duty to the patriot dead, who had 
given, not their fortunes only, but their lives, to redeem 
the country from a foreign yoke, so did not the Craft. 



42 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

Charlestown is adjacent to Bunker Hill. King Sol- 
omon's Lodge was instituted there in 1783. In 1794, 
that Lodge took the initiative to erect a monument on 
the spot where Warren fell. The ground was owned by 
a public-spirited citizen, by the name of Russell, and it 
was known as " Mr. Russell's pasture." On the 11th 
of November, 1794, King Solomon's Lodge, by resolu- 
tion, appointed a Committee "to erect such a monu- 
ment in Mr. Russell's pasture, provided the land can 
be procured, as, in their opinion, will do honor to the 
Lodge, in memory of our late brother, the Most 
"Worshipful Joseph Warren." Mr. Russell was applied 
to, and very promptly and " generously," as the records 
of the Lodge state, " offered a deed of as much land as 
might be necessary for the purpose." 

In compliance with their instructions, and at the ex- 
pense of the Lodge, the Committee proceeded to erect 
thereon a a Tuscan Pillar, eighteen feet in hight, placed 
upon a platform eight feet high, eight feet square, and 
fenced round to protect it from injury. On the top of 
the pillar [I quote from the report of the Committee] is 
placed a gilt Urn, with the initials, and age of Dr. 
Warren, inclosed in the Square and Compasses." On the 
south-west side of the pedestal was the following inscrip- 
tion: 

Erected, A. D., 1794, 

By King Solomon's Lodge of Freemasons, 

Constituted at Charlestown, 1783, 

In memory of 
MAJOR-GENERAL WARREN, 

And his Associates, who were slain on this memorable spot, 
June 17, 1775. 



JOSEPH WARREN. 43 

None but those who set a just value upon the blessings of liberty are 

worthy to enjoy her. In vain we toiled; in vain we fought ; 

we bled in vain, if you, our offspring, want valor to 

repel the assaults of our invaders. 

Charlestown settled, 1628; burnt, 1775; rebuilt, 1776. 

The inclosed land given by Hon. James Kussell. 

When this monument was completed, the Lodge met, 
formed a procession, and accompanied by a large con- 
course of citizens, civil and military officers, trustees 
and officers of the public schools, etc., proceeded to 
the ground and solemnly dedicated the monument in 
Masonic form. An address was delivered by Brother 
John Soley, jr., the Master of the Lodge, and who after- 
ward became Grand Master of Masons in that State. 
The Lodge subsequently fenced in a road to the lot, 
and kept the premises in repair, until 1825, when, by 
a mutual arrangement, the whole passed from under the 
supervision of the Craft, to the present "Bunker Hill 
Monument Association." 

The above-named Association was formed in 1825, for 
the purpose of erecting on Bunker Hill a more befitting 
and enduring monument to the memory of the brave men 
who fell there in the cause of human liberty. The 
"monument and its appurtenances" was then tendered 
by King Solomon's Lodge to the Association, which 
was accepted, with the understanding "that some trace 
oi its former existence" might be preserved in the 
monument that should be erected there. 

The new monument was completed and dedicated, 
with imposing ceremonies, on the 17th of June, 1843. 
The summit of Bunker Hill, on which it stands, is 



44 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

sixty-two feet above the level of the sea, whose waves 
reach within a short distance of its base. The form 
of the monument is that of an obelisk, thirty feet 
square at the ground, and sixteen feet four and a half 
inches at the top. It is built of hewn granite blocks, 
and is two hundred and twelve feet in hight. The 
interior is hollow and circular, having a diameter of 
ten feet seven inches at the bottom, and six feet four 
inches at the summit, and is ascended by two hundred 
and ninety-four steps. At the top is an elliptical cham- 
ber, seventeen feet high and eleven in diameter, with 
four windows, from which is afforded a most beautiful 
view of Boston, its harbor filled with shipping, the 
adjacent towns and surrounding country. 

A vast concourse of people assembled at its dedica- 
tion. The President of the United States, with his 
Cabinet, and distinguished strangers from different 
parts were there. King Solomon's Lodge was there 
again, and occupied the post of honor in the procession. 
Near fifty years before, it had built and dedicated the 
first monument to the memory of Warren and his 
martyred associates. The members who then composed 
it, however, had all passed away, all, save one, and that 
one was the venerable John Soley, who had officiated 
as Master, and delivered the address, at the first dedi- 
cation. Mr. "Webster pronounced an oration on the 
occasion — one of the most eloquent that ever fell from 
his lips. It had one defect, however, perhaps caused 
by the spirit of -the times, — he made no allusion what- 
ever to the Lodge which had so early set the example 
of erecting a monument on Bunker Hill. He could 
not have been ignorant of the facts, for they were 



JOSEPH WARREN. 45 

public property. The Lodge, too, was before him ; the 
man who dedicated the first monument sat at his side 
on the platform, decked in the insignia of the Order. 
Why Mr. Webster avoided all allusion to the agency 
of Masonry in these patriotic labors, we can not im- 
agine. It must have been designed; but the reason 
for it now slumbers with him in the grave; and there 
let it sleep, for great men sometimes have failings 
too, and they need, as others, the broad mantle of 
Masonic charity. 

Agreeably to the terms of the transfer of the prop- 
erty from King Solomon's Lodge, that body has placed 
an exact model of the original monument inside of the 
present one. It stands on the floor of the inner cham- 
ber, immediately fronting the door as you enter the 
obelisk. It is of the finest Italian marble, and, in- 
cluding the granite pedestal on which it stands, is 
about nine feet in hight, and bears the same inscription 
as the former one, with some additions. 

The " model" was placed in its present location on 
the 24th of June, 1845 — half a century after the first 
one was erected. The venerable Soley still lived, and 
delivered an address, as he had done on the same spot 
at the completion of the original. We trust that 
" model" will remain where it is as long as the noble 
obelisk itself shall stand. The evidence of the filial 
reverence and devoted patriotism of the Craft will thus 
go down to future generations, along with the name 
and the deeds of that great and pure patriot Grand 
Master, whose memory all delight to honor. 

But we must bid adieu to Warren, his eloquence, 
his patriotism, and his glorious death ; to Bunker Hill, 



46 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

its hallowed memories and imperishable monuments. We 
love to linger around it, to cultivate a love of country 
from the recollections of its past, and contemplate the 
milder Masonic virtues which adorned the character 
of some who fought and some who fell on that first 
altar of American liberty. 

In contemplating the character of Warren, we are 
impressed by its beautiful proportions, and the harmo- 
nious blending of all its parts. He was brave as 
Hannibal or Napoleon; wise as Fabius or Franklin; 
pure as Washington, and simple as Cincinnatus. His 
mind was naturally vigorous, not to say brilliant; and 
it was disciplined by a thorough education, and enriched 
with the accumulated lore of ancient and modern times. 
His life was stainless as his heart was pure, while his 
love of country was absorbing, and his patriotism of 
that lofty and exalted character which forgets self and 
lays even life upon the altar, that country may triumph. 
He seemed to have been raised up to inaugurate the 
glorious struggle for freedom, and then gathered to the 
heaven of the virtuous dead to herald the coming of 
his illustrious successor. In him Masonry saw its 
living impersonation; and over his tomb, yet, her 
genius weeps and waits his equal. 

In the history of Masonry there have been three 
Grand Masters who fell as martyrs to their integrity 
and zeal in behalf of right: one, traditionally, in the 
first Temple on Moriah ; another on Bunker Hill ; the 
third, and last, immortal Daviess, of Kentucky, on the 
field of Tippecanoe — a trio of worthies glorious in their 
lives, honored in their death — one in fame and memory 
forever ! 



JOSEPH WARREN. 47 

A talented lady of the West, the daughter of a dis- 
tinguished Mason, recently wrote and sent me the fol- 
lowing lines in relation to the subject of this sketch : 

" O ! sadly the stars, on that summer's night, 

Looked down on the battle-field, 
"Where eyes that at morning were proud and bright, 

In the sleep of death were sealed. 
And the star-light stole, with glimmering rays, 

O'er mountain, woodland, and dell, 
'Till it rested down, in a softened haze, 

"Where the gallant "Warren fell : 
There it now shone with a softer glow, 
As though looking through tears on the world below. 

" Ah ! many a noble heart was hushed 

'Mid the battle's din that day; 
And many a life-long hope was crushed 

In its dark and sad array : 
But never a heart more brave and true 

Than the martyr-hero's who fell— 
The first in the cause of Liberty, 

On the Hights of Bunker Hill ! 
It swept o'er the land like a funeral knell — 
The sorrowful tidings, how Warren fell. 

u His countrymen mourned for the hero brave, 

Who inspired each bosom with trust ; 
While Masonry knelt by the blood-hallo w'd grave, 

And wept o'er the slumbering dust. 
She wept for the light from her temples withdrawn, 

The Brother so honored and brave, 
That even the foeman's proud arm was upthrown 

So noble a spirit to save ; 
The Patriot Grand Master, who fell in his might, 
The second of three — in defense of the right ! 

"A soldier — the brightest of laurels were twined, 
Unfading around his fair name — ■ 
While his mem'ry in thousands of hearts is enshrined, 
The rarest and purest of fame. 

4 



MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

A Mason — his life was unselfish and pure, 

Made true by the compass and square ; 
An ashlar of beauty that long will endure, 

"Which Light proves both perfect and fair. 
The world may forget him ; but while there 's a stone 

In Masonry's Temple still there, 
The name of our Warren - will not be unknown, 

But cherished with reverence and care. 
Peace, peace to thy memory, brave Warren, for aye ; 
The Light from thy life shall fade never away 1 " 



SIR CHRISTOPHER WEEK 



SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN. 



There are model Masons as well as model men; 
those who fully exemplify the special and practical duties 
of a Mason ; while they adorn social life, and are ex- 
amples of moral purity and integrity. A man may be 
as pure in his religious character as John the Evan- 
gelist ; a patriot as disinterested and devoted as Tell, as 
Hampden, or as Washington ; a scholar who has explored 
every avenue of knowledge, and acquired all that the 
human mind is capable of grasping : he may be the glory 
of his family, a companion and friend whom you can 
clasp to your heart with joy, and a citizen to whom 
community may point with an honest pride — and yet 
not be a Freemason — although he would be none the 
worse for being one. But, in addition to all these vir- 
tues and acquirements, he may have passed through the 
solemn ceremonies of our Order, and illustrated the 
virtues while he faithfully discharged the duties of a 
Craftsman; exhibiting, in his own life, the wisdom, 
strength, and. beauty which were so harmoniously blended 
in the immortal three who labored in the erection of the 
first Temple at Jerusalem. 

(51) 



52 MASONIC BIOGEAPHY. 

There have been many such in our mystic temple — 
magnificent pillars, towering in grandeur above their 
fellows, apparently perfect in their proportions, uniting 
moral purity with classic elegance, and blending, in their 
own persons, the skill of the Craftsman with the acquire- 
ments of the scholar, the integrity of the citizen, and 
the virtues of a friend. We love to gaze upon such ex- 
hibitions of excellence, for, alas ! they are somewhat rare 
in the history of our race : men who seem fitted for the 
enjoyments of another world, while they are spared as 
the ornaments of this: such are rarely appreciated as 
they should be, until they have passed from our sphere 
to one more in harmony with their nature. 

Such are model Masons ; and such was Sir Christo- 
pher Wren, to a sketeh of whose life and labors we 
now invite the reader's attention. A scholar of rare 
and varied attainments ; an architect who had no equal 
in his day, and whose works, while they attest the genius 
of the builder, are the boast of Old England; long the 
Deputy and twice the Grand Master of Masons, he stands 
first on the "roll of the workmen" of his age; and a 
gentleman whose religious character was as pure as his 
intellectual achievements were glorious. To such a man 
we can fearlessly point as the model Mason of the age 
in which he lived. 

The population of London, in the middle of the seven- 
teenth century, was upward of half a million. It was 
the capital of the British Empire, and the commercial 
metropolis of the world. It was the home of merchant- 
princes, whose ships sailed over every ocean, and whose 
commercial transactions extended to every part of the 
world. Its business pulsations were like the throbbings 



SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN. 53 

of the human heart, sending out to the utmost limits of 
the business world its life-current of trade, and bring- 
ing back from the extremities the fruits of all lands, and 
the wealth and luxuries of every clime. A vast and 
busy multitude thronged its streets, filled its quaint 
old habitations, and toiled in its shops and factories. 
London was then the home and the center of science, 
of literature, and of art. Perhaps at no period in En- 
gland's history did she possess so many men of profound 
and varied learning, as in the latter half of the seven- 
teenth century. Chemistry, philosophy, the mathe- 
matics, architecture, and, indeed, all the sciences, were 
studied as they never were before, and the achievements 
of mind kept pace with the progress of civilization, The 
human intellect seemed to be developing new energies, 
and putting forth powers capable of grasping all knowl- 
edge within the reach of finite capacity. Human genius 
approached its culmination, and the secrets of nature 
came forth at its bidding, as though to do homage to the 
traces of divinity in man, and throw a glow of unearthly 
light along the pathway trodden by humanity. 

The sun of Cromwell, the fanatical "Protector of 
England" as he had assumed to call himself, had gone 
down in gloom, and Charles the Second returned from 
his exile and ascended the throne of his ancestors, in 
the month of May, 1660. London again became the 
home of royalty, and around the court were gathered 
the noblest of England's old nobility. The monarch, 
to add to the stability of his throne, endeavored to 
conciliate the affections of his subjects by every means 
in his power, and gathered around him, in his proud 
capital, the beauty, strength, and wisdom of his em- 



54 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

pire. Learning was fostered, learned men were patron- 
ized, and the arts encouraged. To be a profound 
scholar was a certain passport to royal favor, and to 
profitable and honorable employment. The Royal So- 
ciety was organized in the fall of 1660, when the 
King became its Patron, and encouraged its members 
in their labors. This gave a new impulse to the efforts 
of genius, and the intellect of the nation gathered 
around it as wandering satellites gather around a 
common center by the force of gravitation. The 
moral power of England, at this time, among the 
nations of the earth, was like the sun in the solar 
system; and London was the heart, the center of 
England. 

On Sunday evening, the 2d of September, 1666, 
about 10 o'clock at night, a fire broke out near the 
center of the great city, which ran from house to 
house, from street to street, and from square to square ; 
all night and all day, and day after day, it burned. 
Wider and wider it extended its area of devastation; 
darker and denser were the huge volumes of smoke 
that rolled up from that burning capital; fiercer and 
wilder were the red flames that ascended from those 
blazing blocks of buildings, until it seemed as though 
the whole proud city was about to be offered in sac- 
rifice by fire; dwelling, and shop, and warehouse, 
palace, and church, and cathedral went down, one 
after another, until the noblest mansions of England's 
aristocracy, and the proudest monuments of her archi- 
tectural skill, lay in one black heap of smoking ruins. 
Ten thousand buildings were in ashes; three hundred 
thousand people were houseless in the fields, and a 



SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN. 55 

district a mile in width, and two miles in length, was 
covered with the burning fragments of the proudest 
city in the world! For five or six days the fire held 
high revelry; during the night its light was seen at 
the distance of forty miles; and when it ceased, for 
want of fuel, there was but one-seventh of the great 
Metropolis of England left standing. The whole king- 
dom felt the shock, and the throes of sensation ran 
through every nerve of the body politic, to the ex- 
tremist verge of Charles's dominions. 

It must be remembered, too, that the plague, which 
ravaged London, and made it a charnel-house — carry- 
ing away thousands upon thousands of its population, 
rich and poor, the opulent and high-born, as well as 
the peasant and the beggar, had but recently ceased 
its work of death when this great fire occurred. Civil 
war had long raged ; an usurper had been on the throne, 
and England's heart had bled by the poniard in Eng- 
lish hands. Added to all this, Charles the Second was 
now waging a fierce war with one or two of the conti- 
nental powers, and needed all his resources to sustain 
himself in the field and on the sea. With all this in 
view, we shall more readily understand the magnitude 
of that calamity which swept like a flood of fire over 
London, and left its fairest and largest portion a deso- 
lation. 

But Charles was a man of energy, and he determined 
promptly to rebuild his capital. Previous to the fire, 
the streets were narrow, crooked, and tortuous; and it 
was determined to re-map, at least the burnt district, 
and turn the calamity to account by widening and 
straightening the streets, re-adjusting the lines of pri- 



56 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

vate property, ignoring the practice of erecting wooden 
buildings, and thus reforming while they were re- 
building the city. In addition to all this, the public 
buildings were to be reconstructed, churches must be 
supplied to the public, and St. Paul's, a memento of 
the early triumphs of the cross in England, must be re- 
constructed in a style of greater magnificence than 
before. But where should Charles find a man capable 
of grasping the entire plan; with learning, and skill, 
and influence, and power to superintend the whole of 
these vast and complicated operations ; guide the labors 
of so many thousands of workmen and artizans ; while, 
at the same time, he could design as well, and draw and 
plan, and superintend the mighty work of reconstruct- 
ing a vast city, with all its churches, and cathedrals, 
and other public edifices ? A man wiser than he whom 
the King of Tyre sent to Solomon to design and arrange 
the plans for the first Temple was needed — and such a 
man was found I It was none other than Christopher 
Wren, then Deputy Grand Master of Masons in Eng- 
land. 

Masonry was then an operative science, as it had 
been beyond the memory of man, but it was not ex- 
clusively so. Like an honorary membership in literary 
or historical societies of the present day, some were 
admitted as Freemasons, not because they belonged to 
that profession of operatives, but because of their 
eminence in the political, scientific, or literary world. 
The operatives were called Free Masons, because they 
had passed regularly through the several grades, until 
they had become " master workmen," and thus acquired 
the freedom of the society, and entitled to all its rights 



SIR CHRISTOPHER WEEN. 57 

and privileges. Distinguished men were admitted, be- 
cause of their political eminence, or their superiority 
as men of science. These passed through the ceremon- 
ies of the degrees, and were called Accepted Masons — 
hence the terms, Free and Accepted Masons, as com- 
prehending the entire body of the Craft. When 
Masonry laid aside its operative character, and became 
purely speculative, it retained the appellatives of "Free 
and Accepted" 

St. Paul's Cathedral, London, is the most gigantic 
structure in the world consecrated to the interests of 
Protestant Christianity, and is only excelled in grandeur 
and extent by St. Peter's, in Rome. Besides this, it is 
the best specimen extant of substantial Freemasonry, 
in its operative character, of two hundred years ago; 
and the Grand Master of Masons was its architect and 
builder. The genius which designed, and the patient 
energy which constructed it, must command the homage 
of every visitor, and especially of every Freemason, 
whether from England itself or other and distant lands. 
As you enter the central door from the north and pass 
between the great pillars to the center of the floor 
beneath the dome, you stop and look around and up- 
ward in blank amazement. The entire building is on 
such a gigantic scale; so grand, so imposing, so solid, 
so perfect, that you feel subdued and awed as in the 
presence of the Master-builder himself; a sense of mag- 
nitude, of power, of grandeur, rivets you to the spot, 
and it is some time before you dare move or turn to 
examine in detail. The form of this master-piece of 
architecture is that of a Greek cross; its extreme 
length is five hundred feet; its greatest width is two 



58 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

hundred and twenty-three feet; and its tight, to the 
cross above the dome, is nearly or quite four hundred 
feet. 

Standing on the mosaic floor beneath the center of 
the dome, facing the south, you turn to your left, and 
in front of you is the organ, and beyond it, the choir, 
where the religious services are ordinarily held. You 
advance to near the organ, and a record of the olden 
days is before you — the most fitting and appropriate 
epitaph conceivable. There are eight splendid Co- 
rinthian columns of blue- veined marble, which support 
the organ and gallery, and which are richly ornamented 
with carved work. On the side next the dome, in the 
front of this gallery, on a plain marble slab, is a Latin 
inscription, (formerly in gold letters,) which reads as 
follows in English: 

BENEATH LIES 

SIE CHKISTOPHEB WEEN, 

The builder of this Church and City, 

"Who lived upward of ninety years, not for himself, 

hut for the public good. 

Reader, seekest thou his monument? 

Look around! 

Now let us see who and what was Sir Christopher 
"Wren. 

He was the son and only child of the % Eev. Dr. 
Christopher "Wren, a clergyman in the national church 
of England. He was born at East Knoyle, in "Wilt- 
shire, on the 20th day of October, in the year 1632. 
His father descended from an ancient Danish family, 
and was a man of great learning and ability. His 



SIR CHRISTOPHER WEEK. 59 

mother was Mary, the daughter and heiress of Eobert 
Cox, Esq., a highly respectable family of the county of 
Wilts. 

The young Christopher Wren was of very delicate 
health in childhood, so much so that his parents were 
unwilling to send him from home to be educated, and 
his father took that labor upon himself — assisted by a 
private tutor. His progress in learning was rapid, and 
his disposition was as gentle and amiable as his capaci- 
ties were great. At an early age, when his health had 
improved, he was placed under the care of Dr. Bushby, 
of Westminster, where he had the best tutors England 
could afford ; and such was his genius and taste for learn- 
ing, especially mathematics, that when only in his thir- 
teenth year he invented a new astronomical instrument, 
and dedicated it, in excellent Latin, to his father. In his 
fourteenth year he was transferred from Westminster to 
the University at Oxford. His attainments in the clas- 
sics and mathematics were, at this time, far beyond his 
years ; and his fondness for mechanics was such that he 
had already produced almost as many inventions as can 
be claimed by a full grown New Englander of the pre- 
sent day. By his precocity of intellect and great at- 
tainments in science, he attracted the attention of the 
learned men of the University, and won their friend- 
ship and regard. Dr. Wilkins presented him to Prince 
Charles as a prodigy in science; and he was already 
intrusted with the translation of papers that would have 
tried the attainments of mature scholars. 

The seventeenth century was the noon-day of En- 
gland's glory — at least in mind. It was the century 
of poets, artists, and men of letters, Milton, Dryden, 



60 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY.' 

Cowley; Pope, Swift, Steele, Addison; Newton, Locke, 
Barrow, Boyle, Halley, Harvey ; Bubens, Vandyke, Bem- 
brandt, and a great cloud of giant minds, both in En- 
gland and on the continent, made that century memor- 
able in the world's history. The mental activities of the 
world were such as they never had been before ; and it 
seemed as though humanity was about to ignore its 
kindredship to dust, and assert its claims to a higher 
birthright and a more glorious destiny. Dr. Harvey 
had discovered the circulation of the blood ; and Galileo, 
with his glass, had invaded the heavens, and demon- 
strated the revolution of the planets. The Boyal So- 
ciety was organized, and genius had combined with 
science in efforts to wrest from nature its profoundest 
mysteries. Philosophy, in its most abstruse depart- 
ments, was reveling in the opulence of its discoveries ; 
astronomy was mapping out the heavens, grouping the 
stars, and measuring the days and years of the planets ; 
while poetry was heard in numbers never heard before, 
and music was lending it wings to bear it heavenward. 
Such were the tendencies of the age, and such the busy 
efforts of intellect to grasp the hitherto unattained, and 
contract the space between the finite and infinite, when 
Wren began his career of greatness. No wonder if his 
mind did catch the inspiration of the age, and, like an 
athlete in the ancient games, prepare itself for mighty 
achievements in the intellectual arena. 

His progress in the acquisition of knowledge at Ox- 
ford astonished his teachers, and secured for him the 
friendship of some of the first men in the world of letters. 
Dr. John Wilkins, afterward Bishop of Chester; Dr. 
Seth "Ward, the learned philosopher and mathematician ; 



SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN. 61 

and the celebrated Mr. Oughtred, author of an abstruse 
work on mathematical science, with others of the first 
men of the age, became his friends. He wrote in Latin 
with singular facility, and, at the request of Sir Charles 
Scarborough, he undertook to translate some of Mr. 
Oughtred's mathematical works into that language. He 
invented, about this time, an instrument for writing 
with two pens, for which he obtained a patent. He 
was then but fifteen years of age! Dr. Scarborough, 
already named, was, at this time, a lecturer on anatomy 
at Surgeon's Hall, and employed young Wren as a de- 
monstrating assistant. He also wrote a treatise on 
spherical trigonometry, and made several valuable in- 
ventions in mechanics. 

Just at this time, as if to encourage intellect in its 
glorious efforts, the world of art was electrified by the 
announcement that St. Peter's, at Rome, was finished! 
This temple was not only the largest and richest then, 
or since, dedicated to Christian worship, but it was de- 
signed as the central Church of the Christian world. 
It had been built under the patronage and pontificates 
of nineteen successive Popes ; and the genius of twenty 
of the most renowned architects, supported by the 
treasures of the Christian world, had been exhausted in 
erecting it, and art had poured out all its wealth of 
treasures upon it. No wonder that the anouncement 
of its completion drew all eyes to Pome, and presented 
architecture as a science worthy the attention of scien- 
tific men. Wren grasped it as the naturalist grasps a 
new and rare specimen in nature. 

In his eighteenth year he received his degree of B. A. 
at College. About this time, too, he contrived several 



62 MASONIC BIOGKAPHY. 

new and valuable inventions. In the following year he 
wrote an algebraic treatise on the Julian period, and, 
by other manifestations of genius and learning, gave 
abundant promise of future greatness. Inigo Jones, the 
greatest architect in England, died just as Wren was 
expanding into manhood ; he, too, had been Grand Mas- 
ter of the Freemasons in his day ; and this relation, in 
connection with his fame as an architect, may have early 
directed the thoughts of Wren to that association. 

At twenty-one the young scholar obtained his degree 
of Master of Arts, and, about the same time, he was 
elected a Fellow of All-Souls College, at Oxford. He 
continued to spend most of his time at the University, 
occasionally visiting London for purposes connected with 
his scientific pursuits, where he was constantly engaged 
in accumulating those stores of knowledge by which he 
was prepared for situations in which he afterward ren- 
dered such distinguished services to his country and 
mankind. Mr. Evelyn, one of the first scholars of his 
day, about this time formed the acquaintance of Wren, 
and speaks of him in his Diary as " a miracle of a youth" 
and "a rare and early prodigy of universal science" 

The period at which Wren emerged into active life 
was one " of philosophical inquiry, experiment, and dis- 
covery;" and a mind like his was ever ready to grasp 
at hints and partial developments, and from them to 
work out great practical truths. He assisted to perfect, 
if he did not really invent, that great philosophical in- 
strument — the barometer, although efforts were after- 
ward made on the continent to rob him of the honor. 
He also originated the art of engraving in mezzotint, 
which was subsequently improved by Evelyn and Prince 



SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN. 63 

Rupert — his co-laborers in the Royal Society. Indeed 
there was scarcely any subject in the whole range of 
improvements and discoveries that did not, at times, 
engage the attention of this great experimental philoso- 
pher. In looking over the transactions of the Royal 
Society, of which he became such an active and useful 
member, we not only find him presenting valuable pa- 
pers at almost every meeting, announcing discoveries 
and inventions, or suggesting improvements in former 
ones, but nearly every important discovery by other 
members was referred to him for examination. His 
opinions on all subjects were held in such esteem by his 
philosophical companions, that they were continually 
urging him on all points of great and momentous sub- 
jects. Robert Hook, one of the greatest mathematicians 
of that age, declared that " since the time of Archimedes, 
there scarce ever met, in one man, in so great a perfec- 
tion, such a mechanical hand and so philosophical a 
mind." 

A few select friends at Oxford were in the habit of 
meeting, at stated times, for the purpose of discussing- 
questions in natural and experimental philosophy. Dr. 
Wilkins, Hook, "Ward, Newton, Boyle, Evelyn, "Wren, 
and other devotees of science were members of the club. 
In that little company were made the rough drafts, so to 
speak, of some of the greatest discoveries that were matur- 
ed within the next fifty years. The times, it is true, were 
unpropitious ; political commotions and civil wars con- 
vulsed society. The power of Cromwell had culminated, 
and he had now commenced his downward career, which 
was consummated, by his death, on the 3d of September, 
1658. But, during all these upheavings of society, this 



64 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

association of young men, in the retiracy of Oxford, con- 
tinned its labors ; the members were steadily preparing 
themselves for usefulness, and to shed upon their age 
and country a glory far greater than could be won at 
the head of armies and on crimsoned battle-fields. 

During the residence of Wren at Oxford, he studied 
anatomy, and was afterward for a time demonstrator 
under Drs. Scarborough and "Willis, and greatly assisted 
the latter in preparing a treatise on the brain. He also 
first tried the experiment of injecting fluids into the 
veins, though this discovery was afterward claimed by 
the French. So profound was his acquirements in as- 
tronomical science, that when he left Oxford for the 
Metropolis, in 1657, he was appointed Professor of Astron- 
omy in Gresham College. And now began his public life, 
so full of activities, so wonderful in achievements. He 
was now in his twenty-fifth year; in good health, of an 
ardent temperament, learned beyond any of his years, 
and ambitious to excel in whatever he undertook. His 
future life was the pathway of the peaceful conquerer, 
making conquest after conquest, and adding trophy to 
trophy, until, opulent in wisdom beyond all his compeers, 
and crowned with honors on which there rested no stain 
of blood or dishonor, he slept with his fathers in an hon- 
ored grave,, and left a name of which England will be 
proud when the race of her Stuarts shall have been 
forgotten. 

In January, 1660, he was appointed to succeed Dr. 
Seth Ward, a Savillian Professor of Astronomy at Oxford, 
and was admitted to its honors in May following, a few 
days before the restoration of Charles the Second. The 
return of the Sovereign to his rightful throne gave 



SIR CHRISTOPHER WRE2T. 65 

great satisfaction to the nation, and promise of peace 
and security for the future. The civil commotions which 
had so long rocked the Island, under Cromwell and his 
son, ceased like the last vibrations of an earthquake, 
and stability in government afforded opportunities for 
intellectual culture and social improvement. 

Charles was the patron of learning and learned men, 
and threw all the influence of his high position in favor 
of intellectual improvement. On the 28th of November, 
1660, after a lecture by Wren at Gresham College, a 
meeting was held to promote the organization of a " so- 
ciety for the promotion of physical-mathematical experi- 
mental learning." Twelve were present, of whom Mr. 
Wren was one, and one of the most active. Then and 
there the corner-stone of the Koyal Society was laid, 
and, on the 5th of December following, it received the 
approval of the king, and a charter of incorporation, 
which was drawn up by Wren himself. This opened a 
field of labor for Wren, into which he entered with his 
accustomed zeal and diligence, and, for the greater part 
of his subsequent life, he was its most active and useful 
member. Almost every subject proposed for investiga- 
tion was submitted to the ordeal of his criticism; and 
nearly every new discovery was referred to him for ex- 
amination. 

It would require a volume to describe all his labors, 
and record the signal triumphs of his genius. On the 
12th of September, 1661, he received his degree of Doc- 
tor of Civil Law, at Oxford, and about the same time 
he received the honor of the same degree from the Uni- 
versity at Cambridge — so great already was his repu- 
tation as a scholar ; yet he was only in the twenty-ninth 



6b MASONIC BIOGEAPHY. 

year of his age ! Among other acquisitions of his active 
mind, was a knowledge of architecture, for which he 
had a particular fondness ; and soon after he had taken 
the degree of Doctor of Civil Law, the king sent for him 
to come to London, and appointed him assistant to Sir 
John Denham, Surveyor-General of His Majesty's works. 

Denham was a better poet than architect, and needed 
just such a man as Wren to aid him in the more im- 
portant departments of his labor. Inigo Jones had 
long served as Grand Master (but was now deceased), 
and was acknowledged the best architect of his age. 
His son-in-law, Mr. Webb, a noted architect, was 
also distinguished as a Freemason, and had been the 
assistant of Sir John Denham in his official duties. 
Wren continued actively in the service of the king, 
and in his laborious connection with the Royal Society. 
His life was one of ceaseless labor, and his mind seemed 
capable of grasping all knowledge, and of solving every 
problem, however difficult or abstruse. 

Charles the Second, as we have already seen, as- 
cended the throne of England on the anniversary of his 
birth, 29th of May, 1660. During the years he spent 
in exile on the Continent, whither he had been driven 
by the protectorate of Cromwell, he had been made a 
Freemason, and was warmly attached to the institution. 
On his accession to power he encouraged the Craft by 
every means he could wield, consistently with his high 
position and the weighty responsibilities which claimed 
his time and attention. Masons were then builders — 
operative workmen, in practice as well as by profession. 
It was a profession, an isolated and peculiar profession; 
for while' the members were engaged in their calling, 



SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN. 67 

either as architects or operatives, they held their secret 
meetings to impart and preserve a knowledge of their 
art, and enjoyed peculiar privileges by special grace of 
the government. All public buildings of magnitude 
and importance were erected by them, and the whole 
business of building appeared to be conceded to them, 
and was under their control. The Order had long lan- 
guished during the ascendancy of Cromwell, for his 
fanatical notions were in direct antagonism to Masonry, 
and he gave its members no encouragement. In addi- 
tion to this, during the most of his protectorate the 
country was in a condition bordering upon anarchy, 
and there was little demand for the services of operative 
masonry. The people had neither time nor heart to 
engage in building. The tramp of armies and the 
shout of battle paralyzed the arm of industry, and 
hushed the din of the artizan : the people had no time 
for anything but to provide for personal safety and im- 
mediate necessities. 

At what time Mr. "Wren became a Mason, or where, 
we are unable to determine, for there is no record of it 
extant, so far as we have been able to discover. It was 
most probably in one of the Lodges of London, and 
very soon after he had passed his majority. He was 
naturally fond of society, provided its enjoyment did 
not prevent the gratification of his thirst for knowledge ; 
and as the leading Craftsmen were then the men of 
learning, and the study of the arts and sciences a prom- 
inent object of the association, Wren doubtless found it 
congenial to his tastes, and resorted to it as the worn 
and thirsty traveler goes to the limpid waters to quench 
his thirst. 



68 MASONIC EIOGEAPHY. 

On the 27th of December, 1663, a General Assembly, 
or Grand Lodge, was held in London for the election 
of Grand Officers, and the transaction of such business 
as the exigencies of the Craft required. At this meet- 
ing Henry Jermyn, Earl of St. Albans, was elected 
Grand Master. This was the only elective office at that 
time, the others being filled by appointment of the 
Grand Master, who was Master, then, in more than 
name ; he was not only the presiding officer of the Gen- 
eral Assembly, or Grand Lodge (and it must be recol- 
lected that the Assembly embraced all the Craft, even 
to the youngest Entered Apprentice,) but he was em- 
phatically the Grand Master of Masons. The Grand 
Master, therefore, at this meeting, appointed Sir John 
Denhani as his Deputy, and Christopher Wren and 
John Webb his Wardens. Mr. Webb, having married 
a daughter of the celebrated Inigo Jones, received the 
benefit of instructions from that distinguished artist, 
and was now an assistant to Denham as Surveyor Gen- 
eral. It will thus be seen that Wren was associated 
with industrious and vigorous Craftsmen, who were 
as ready for active duty as he was himself. 

The session of the Grand Lodge at which Wren was 
appointed a Warden was an active and important one. 
To reduce everything to system, and secure order and 
regularity among the members, specific rules were 
adopted for their government. Six General Regula- 
tions were framed, founded upon the organic principles 
of Masonry, and formally agreed to. They were of 
great importance in reducing everything to order, and 
securing a correct deportment among the members. 
Thev contain the germs of those General Regulations 



SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN. 69 

which were adopted in 1723, and have come down to 
our own times. Doubtless Christopher Wren bore a 
part in their preparation and adoption ; and indeed they 
bear evident marks of his systematic habits and well- 
trained mind. We should not be surprised if they were 
drawn up by him, and adopted at his suggestion. 

Mr. Wren served as Warden until the session of the 
Grand Lodge on the 24th of June, 1666, when a 
change was made in the Grand Officers, and Thomas 
Save, a nobleman, was elected Grand Master in the 
place of the Earl of St. Albans. The new Grand Mas- 
ter appointed Mr. Wren as his Deputy, John Webb 
and Grimlin Gibbons being selected as Wardens. 

As Assistant Superintendent of His Majesty's works, 
Wren found employment congenial to his taste, and 
was constantly engaged in his favorite pursuits. On 
the 23d of October, 1667, the corner-stone of the Koyal 
Exchange was laid by the Craft — the king officiating 
in person. In the succeeding years many of the finest 
structures in England were built, and mostly under 
the superintendence of Wren. He appears to have 
been the most industrious man in England, and the 
record of his labors would astonish one, even in the 
present "fast age." But we may not detail them all, 
for we have not room. 

In 1671 he commenced the erection of his great 
Doric, fluted column, called, by way of eminence, The 
Monument, and finished it in 1677. It was built in 
obedience to an act of Parliament, to commemorate 
the great fire, and the rebuilding of the city. Its site 
is within one hundred and thirty feet of the spot where 
the fire began. It stands on a pedestal twenty-one 



70 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

feet square, and* it's entire hight is two hundred and 
two feet. It was then, and long since, regarded as the 
finest isolated column in the world; and was nearly 
thirty feet higher than that of Antoninus at Rome. 
But the hight, durability, and style of the monument 
on our own Bunker Hill has eclipsed the glory of the 
great column in London. On the 20th of November, 
1673, he received the honors of knighthood from his 
sovereign, Charles the Second, and they were never 
conferred on a worthier subject. 

London, before the great fire, was a mass of archi- 
tectural incongruities. The streets were narrow and 
crooked, turning and twisting in all kinds of curves 
and angles. The alleys were little more than paths 
between buildings ; and the latter were mostly of wood, 
with the upper stories projecting over the street, and 
many of them were covered with pitch on the outside. 
No wonder it burned : the only wonder is that it had 
not burned sooner, and entirely. Upon preparing to 
rebuild the city, Wren was directed by the king to 
prepare a general plan, with new grades, a system of 
sewerage, and broad and regular streets ; but the own- 
ers of private property entered their protests, and re- 
fused to yield. The acting commissioner found he 
could not accomplish all he wished, yet he succeeded 
in his designs to a very considerable extent. Many 
streets were widened and straitened; the buildings 
were arranged in better order and taste; the uncouth 
and antiquated projections of upper stories were pro- 
hibited, and brick and stone were substituted for wood. 
There was much opposition to all this, but Wren was in 
advance of his age; and by his prudent and judicious 



SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN. 71 

management, together with the counsel and encour- 
agement of the king and parliament, he was able to 
proceed with his herculean task, and London soon 
began to rise like another phoenix from its ashes. 

About one hundred churches and chapels were to be 
rebuilt, besides the Boyal Exchange, Custom House, 
Guildhall, Blackwell Hall, Bridewell, St. Paul's Cathe- 
dral, and some fifty other public buildings. These were 
public works, to be erected under the supervision of the 
government; and, from their numbers and magnitude, 
we may form some estimate of the amount of labor to 
be performed by Wren. He had now succeeded to the 
office of Surveyor-General, and, in person, prepared the 
designs for most of these great structures. He had 
his assistants in each particular department to execute 
the details, but the burden and responsibility rested 
upon Wren himself, and nobly did he perform his task ! 

The great cathedral was Wren's greatest work, and 
it is still the monument of his enduring fame. That 
magnificent structure, and the site it occupies, has a 
history, a romantic and brilliant one, running away back 
into antiquity, in the days of heathen gods and heathen 
worship. According to Flete, a monk of the fifteenth 
century, a temple once stood on that very spot, dedicated 
to the goddess Diana. Though this is not positively 
certain, yet, from the amount of Boman pottery, urns, 
vases, etc., found there while making excavations, it is 
highly probable that a temple to some deity worshiped 
by the Bomans anciently occupied the ground. 

The first Metropolitan Sees were established in En- 
gland in the year A. D. 185, and a Christian church was 
then erected on the present site of St. Paul's— a heathen 



72 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

temple thus yielding its place to the triumphs of the 
Cross. This early church was, most probably, destroyed 
during the persecution under Diocletian. But the re- 
ligion of heathen Eome was destined to pass away before 
the simple but sublime teachings of the Gospel, whose 
earnest messengers went everywhere, proclaiming the 
new faith with a constancy and heroism worthy of the 
ancient prophets. The fires lighted by Diocletian were 
among the last spasmodic efforts of heathen Eome to 
preserve its ancient religion. With the decay of the 
Empire, its religion waned — for it had in itself no vi- 
tality. St. Augustine came to England about the be- 
ginning of the sixth century, on a mission from Pope 
Gregory, under whose preaching Ethelbert, the first 
Saxon king, embraced Christianity, and the Cross was 
then firmly planted on the soil of Britain. About the 
year 604, the first church named St. Paul's was erected 
on the site of the present one. 

Some seventy years afterward, Erkenwald, the fourth 
Bishop of London, expended large sums in enlarging 
and ornamenting this church, which remained as a vis- 
ible landmark in the progress of Christianity until 1083, 
when it was destroyed by fire. A much more splendid 
church (and the immediate predecessor of the present 
one,) arose from its ruins; but this, also, was greatly 
injured by fire, in 1135. It was still incomplete, for 
the steeple was not finished until 1221, and the choir 
not until nineteen years afterward. The length of this 
building was six hundred and ninety feet, breadth one 
hundred and eighty, and hight of the roof, one hundred 
and two feet; it covered three acres, three roods, and 
twenty-six perches. The hight of the steeple from the 



SIR CHRISTOPHER WREF. 73 

ground was five hundred and twenty feet; the length 
of the cross above the ball was fifteen feet ; and the 
transverse portion six feet. In 1444, the steeple was 
struck by lightning and set on fire; and again in 1561. 
In 1630, a commission was issued to inquire what re- 
pairs the venerable structure needed, and what funds 
were on hand to defray the expense. In 1633, the 
repairs were commenced, under the direction of the 
celebrated Inigo Jones, then the Grand Master of Ma- 
sons; they were finished in 1639 ; at an expense of near 
half a million of dollars. 

The building suffered greatly during the civil wars, 
and on the restoration of Charles the Second, a new 
commission was organized to repair it, in which Mr. 
Wren appears as architect. This Avas in 1663, and three 
years were occupied in removing adjacent structures, 
clearing away the accumulated rubbish, and providing 
materials for the work. While this was in progress, 
and when all were looking forward to see their venerable 
Cathedral restored to more than its former glory, the 
great fire of 1666 occurred, which decided its fate, and 
rendered it incapable of repair. 

It was then determined to take down the remains of 
the old building and erect an entirely new one on the 
same ground; and a new commission was issued to this 
effect, with Christopher Wren as the chief architect. 
He accordingly prepared plans and designs, which were 
repeatedly altered and changed, but finally approved of 
by the king, who, on the first of May, 1675, issued his 
warrant for the commencement of the work. 

The difficulty of removing the old walls and towers 
had been great. They were of stone, and the cement 



74 MASONIC BIOGKAPHY.' 

which bound these stones together had been growing 
into stone itself for nearly six hundred years. To 
mount to the top of the walls and pick off the stones in 
fragments, was a very tedious as well as a very danger- 
ous process; and it seemed as though it would require 
an age to accomplish the work and permit them to begin 
the new structure. The restless energy of Wren could 
not endure this tardy process ; and his philosophic mind 
set to work to devise some plan to expedite the business. 
It would not do to undermine the towers and allow them 
to fall, for there was too much peril to the workmen; 
and to blow up the structure by gunpowder, would scat- 
ter destruction over the whole city. In this dilemma, 
the scientific mind of "Wren devised a plan. He calcu- 
lated the weight of one of the towers, and then the ex- 
act explosive force of gunpowder, in order to ascertain 
if the walls might not be thrown down without scatter- 
ing the fragments. Assured of his calculations, he went 
to work. 

In his progress of removing the old building he had 
come to the middle tower, on which the lofty spire had 
formerly rested. This was nearly two hundred feet 
high, and the workmen could not be induced to labor 
on the top of it. Here Wren determined to try his 
experiment, for the double purpose of facilitating the 
labor and working out the problem of his philosoph- 
ical speculations. He caused a hole to be dug of about 
four feet wide, by the side of the north-west pier of 
the tower, from which a perforation was made two feet 
square, reaching to the center of the pier. In this he 
placed a small deal box, containing eighteen pounds 
of gunpowder. To this box he affixed a hollow cane 



SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN. 75 

which contained a quick-match, reaching to the surface 
of the ground above, and along the ground a train of 
powder was laid with a match. The mine was then 
closed up and exploded, while the philosophical archi- 
tect, at a safe distance, calmly waited with confidence 
the effect of his experiment. 

The result proved that the small quantity of powder 
not only lifted up the whole angle of the tower, with 
two great arches that rested upon it, but also two 
adjoining arches of the aisles, and the masonry above 
them. This it appeared to do in a slow but efficient 
manner, cracking the walls to the top, lifting visibly 
the whole weight about nine inches, which suddenly 
dropping, made a great heap of ruins in the place, 
without scattering or accident. It was half a minute 
before the heap, already fallen, opened in two or three 
places, and emitted smoke. The result of his calcula- 
tion was satisfactory, and the experiment eminently 
successful. He ascertained, by this experiment, the force 
of gunpowder — eighteen pounds only of which lifted 
the massive stone tower, which was two hundred feet 
high, with the additional arches, weighing more than 
three thousand tons, and saved the work of a thousand 
laborers ! The fall of the immense weight, from so 
great a hight, produced such a concussion that the 
citizens supposed it to be the shock of an earthquake. 
The experiment was one of the finest illustrations on 
record of the superiority of mind and science over 
mere physical force. 

Satisfied with his experiment, Wren determined to 
continue the process; but being called away on other 
business, he intrusted it to the management of his next 



76 MASONIC BIOGrEAPHY. 

officer, -who, too wise to obey the orders of his superior, 
inserted too large a quantity of powder, which sent the 
fragments in every direction, to the great danger of 
the inhabitants. They made such complaints that an 
order was issued to use no more powder, though, with 
the original caution of the architect, it might have been 
continued without danger, and at a great saving of 
time and money. 

The corner-stone of the new cathedral was laid on 
the 21st of June, 1675, by Sir Christopher in person, 
as D. G-. M., assisted by his Wardens, and the struc- 
ture was completed in 1710, by the great architect's 
eldest son — it being thus thirty-five years in building. 
The entire cost of the building was seven hundred and 
forty-eight thousand pounds — nearly four millions of 
dollars, and the amount was principally raised by a tax 
on coals imported into London, and the residue by vol- 
untary contributions. And what, think you, reader, 
was the compensation received by this great genius for 
his untiring labor for more than thirty of the best 
years of his life? The paltry sum of two hundred 
pounds per annum — one moiety of which was reserved 
by the government until the completion of the work! 

Sir Christopher suffered much abuse from nameless 
writers, charging upon him frauds of all kinds; and 
severe and villainous criticisms on the style and man- 
ner of building, by men who dare not put their names 
to their productions. Anonymous pamphlets were 
issued, full of scandalous abuse of the Grand Master, 
but he heeded them not. Fully conscious of his own 
integrity and ability, he quietly pursued his labor, de- 
pending on his work, when finished, to justify his 



SIE, CHEISTOrHER WEEN. 77 

course, and upon posterity to do justice to his memory. 
Government, however, instituted critical and extensive 
examinations into his proceedings, which proved him 
capable, correct, and honest He came out of the ordeal 
unsullied by the vile aspersions, and loved and vene- 
rated more than ever. ■ 

With all the great man's devotion to science, his 
achievements in his profession, the friendship of his 
sovereign, and the honors conferred upon him, he was 
not happy. It needed the pure and noble sympathies 
of woman to fill the void ; for what are all other earthly 
blessings, without the bliss of wedded love ! Early in 
1674, therefore, he married the daughter of Sir John 
Coghill, and, on the 16th of February, 1675, his happi- 
ness was increased by the birth of a son, whom he 
named Christopher, after himself. His wife died soon 
after, and he subsequently married the daughter of 
Lord Fitzwilliam. For nearly thirty years after his 
marriage, his life was one of severe and unremitting 
labor, and its complete record would be but a contin- 
ued repetition of dates, and deeds, and triumphs. 

The great number of public buildings erected under 
the supervision of Sir Christopher were gradually com- 
pleted. One after another they were accepted from his 
hands and consecrated to sacred, or dedicated to public 
uses. For all this labor, as above hinted, he received 
a very meager compensation, yet his public and philan- 
thropic spirit induced him, in 1779, to donate, from his 
small salary, fifty pounds, to aid in carrying forward the 
work on St. Paul's. During this year he finished the 
church of St. Stephen, Walbrook — a most beautiful 
specimen of his skill in architecture. So delighted were 



78 MASONIC BIOGKAPHY. 

the people with their new church, that they presented 
to the wife of the great architect the sum of twenty 
guineas, as a kind of thank-offering. The following is 
an extract from the parish vestry-book : 

"August 24, 1679. — Ordered that a present of twenty 
guineas be made to the lady of Sir Christopher Wren, 
as a testimony of the regard the parish has for the great 
care and skill that Sir Christopher "Wren showed in the 
re-building of our church." 

It was, apparently, a small testimonial, but it was 
richly deserved and most worthily bestowed. 

In 1680, Sir Christopher was elected President of the 
Royal Society — a most honorable mark of distinction. 
But he had labored faithfully and zealously to build up 
the institution, and well deserved the honor of being its 
first officer. Indeed, his labors were incessant; when 
not engaged on St. Paul's, the great work of his life, he 
was at some of the numerous other public buildings 
whose construction he superintended ; while his evenings 
were mostly given to the Poyal Society. During the 
period of his presidency, we find, on looking over its 
records, that he was rarely absent from one of its meet- 
ings, and scarcely a question of importance was brought 
before it but was subjected to the ordeal of his criticism, 
from the swing of a pendulum to the movements of a 
planet. Indeed, no subject seemed beyond the grasp of 
his capacious mind — no question so abstruse that he 
could not analyze it. As a specimen of his industry at 
this period of his life, we quote a single paragraph from 
Elmes's biography of the great builder. 

"The next year (1683) of Wren's life passed much 
the same as the last, superintending and designing for 



SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN. 79 

St. Paul's Cathedral, the Royal and Episcopal palaces 
at Winchester, the parochial churches, companies' halls, 
and other public and private edifices in the metropolis, 
and the two universities, besides his attendance on the 
Privy Council, the Court of Claims, the Royal Society, 
and unrecorded public and private engagements ! " 

Such were the multiplicity of claims upon, and such 
the unwearied labors of this great and good man and 
distinguished Grand Master. Well did a later writer 
say, in view of all his labors, " had he been remunerated 
as architects now are, he would have been, perhaps, the 
richest commoner in England." But he sought to be 
useful rather than to acquire wealth. 

To go back a little and bring up his Masonic record : 
On the 27th of December, 1663, a General Assembly or 
Grand Lodge was held, when Henry Jermyn, Earl of 
St. Albans, was elected Grand Master, who appointed 
Sir John Denham his Deputy, and Christopher Wren 
and John Webb, Esqrs., his Wardens. This fact is 
stated on the authority of Anderson, Preston, and all 
the old Masonic writers, and universally credited by the 
Craft. At this session of the Grand Lodge, an effort 
was made, and partly accomplished, to reduce the gen- 
eral principles governing the Order to positive and 
specific rules ; and in the earliest printed works on Ma- 
sonry, we find the following six regulations as having 
been proposed and adopted at this session : 

11 First. — That no person, of what degree soever, be 
made or accepted a Freemason, unless in a regular Lodge, 
whereof one to be a Master or a Warden in that limit 
or divison where such Lodge is kept, and another to be 
a Craftsman in the trade of Freemasonry. 



0(J MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

11 Second. — That no person hereafter shall be accepted 
a Freemason, but such as are of able body, honest pa- 
rentage, good reputation, and an observer of the lavs 
of the land. 

" TJiird. — That no person hereafter who shall be ac- 
cepted a Freemason, shall be admitted into any Lodge 
or assembly, until he has brought a certificate of the 
time and place of his acceptation from the Lodge that 
accepted him, unto the Master of that limit or division 
where such Lodge is kept; and the said Master shall 
enroll the same in a roll of parchment, to be kept for 
that purpose, and shall give an account' of all such ac- 
ceptations at every General Assembly. 

" Fourth. — That every person who is now a Free- 
mason shall bring to the Master a note of the time of 
his acceptation, to the end the same may be enrolled 
in such priority of place as the brother deserves ; and 
that the whole company and fellows may the better 
know each other. 

"Fifth. — That for the future, the said fraternity of 
Freemasons shall be regulated and governed by one 
Grand Master, and as many Wardens as the said society 
shall think fit to appoint at every annual General As- 
sembly. 

"Sixth. — That no person shall be accepted, unless he 
be twenty-one years old or more." 

The above six rules formed the germ of those "An- 
cient Charges and General Regulations" which were 
approved and adopted by the Grand Lodge in 1723. 
They were, most probably, the product of Mr. Wren's 
systematic mind, and bear his impress. He was one of 
those tireless workers, who is never satisfied unless the 



SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN. 81 

cause in which he is engaged is progressing; and, in 
order to accomplish anything, he knew the importance 
of system and rule. Like a wise and judicious master- 
builder, he would first draw the designs for his work, 
and then persistently follow those designs to completion. 
The government of Masonry, at that day, was loose and 
uncertain, much being left to the will of the Grand 
Master ; hence the necessity of arranging and systema- 
tizing the laws, as above accomplished by Wren. 

In June, 1666, the Earl of Eivers (Thomas Savage,) 
succeeded St. Albans as Grand Master, and Sir Chris- 
topher Wren was appointed his Deputy. The Grand 
Master was too indolent to attend properly to the du- 
ties of his office, and the superintendence of the Craft 
was left almost exclusively to his Deputy. In this 
office Wren served, with great acceptability, until 1685, 
when he was elected Grand Master. Two distinguished 
men had preceded him in the Orient during this inter- 
val — George Villars, Duke of Buckingham, and Henry 
Bennett, Earl of Arlington — but each had retained Sir 
Christopher as Deputy, so highly were his services 
appreciated. Then, for ten years, he presided over the 
Craft as Grand Master, in addition to all his other 
arduous and complicated duties. The Order nourished 
during all these years, for how could it be otherwise 
when the great Wren was at its head, imparting to it 
the vigor and restless activity so characteristic of 
himself? 

In 1695, Charles Lenox, Duke of Bichmond, was 
elected Grand Master, and Sir Christopher was relieved 
of a portion of his burdens; but three years afterward, 
in 1698, Wren was again elected. How long he served 



82 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

we are unable to state — probably until 1702 — but, from 
bis increasing age and growing infirmities, to say noth- 
ing of bis public engagements, which still pressed heav- 
ily upon him, it is presumed that he could give but 
little attention to his masonic duties. It was, probably, 
in consequence of this, and partly to unpropitious public 
events during the reign of Queen Anne, that Masonry 
began to languish in London, and in a few years but 
four Lodges were to be found in activity. But a 
brighter day was ere long to dawn upon it — the morn- 
ing of an eventful and glorious future. 

Let us return a little, again, to gather up a few items 
in the history of the illustrious architect. "We have 
seen he was elected Grand Master in 1685, and an 
eminent writer, referring to that period, says : 

"Wren had now received almost every honor that 
could be conferred on him : knighthood from his sover- 
eign, when that distinction was more selectly conferred 
than of late years ; the presidency of the most illustri- 
ous philosophical society in Europe;- the surveyor- 
generalship of all the royal works, the cathedral of St. 
Paul, and the public buildings of the capital; and the 
associate and correspondent of the first men for rank 
and talent in Europe. In this year his services were 
required in a parliament which Hume acknowledges 
was placed in a more critical situation than was almost 
any one preceding it. He was accordingly elected and 
returned a member for Plympton, in Devonshire, ant 1 
served in that parliament which began at Westminster. 
May 19, 1685." 

In this new public position his duties were numer- 
ous and arduous, and his attendance on the meetings 



SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN. 83 

of the Royal Society was not so regular as formerly; 
but he found enough to occupy every moment of his 
time, and really accomplished more in detailed labor 
than any man in England. Nor was this a mere spas- 
modic effort; it was continued year after year, and to 
read the matters referred to him by the government, 
some apparently of trivial importance, and some of the 
greatest magnitude, and, from his reports upon them, 
one would be led to think that the whole business of 
the municipal administration rested upon his shoulders. 
He seemed to do everything, because the government 
knew he could, and it required he would. He was the 
best model of a "business man " we have ever seen 
described — giving prompt and thorough attention to 
everything, and at the right time. 

He was also an example in his morals. His life, in 
every respect, was blameless, and he thought it not 
inconsistent with his position to frown upon immorality, 
wherever found. In 1695, he, in conjunction with his 
associate commissioners of the public works, issued an 
order forbidding profanity among the workmen em- 
ployed upon the cathedral, thus exhibiting his detes- 
tation of that inexcusable and ungentlemanly vice. In 
this he bore a striking resemblance to the illustrious 
"Washington, and added another proof to the theory, 
that no one can be truly great who is not of pure 
morals and blameless life. 

In 1698, as we have already stated, he was again 
elected Grand Master, and renewed his attention to 
masonic duties with the zeal of his earlier years, en- 
hanced in value by his matured experience. One who 
was well acquainted with his history, refers to his 



84 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

masonic zeal in the following language: "He distin- 
guished himself beyond any of his predecessors in legis- 
lating for, and promoting the success of, the lodges 
under his care. He was Master of the St. Paul's 
Lodge, now the Lodge of Antiquity, and attended the 
meetings regularly for upward of eighteen years. Du- 
ring his presidency he presented the lodge with three 
mahogany candlesticks, of beautiful carving, which the 
members still possess, and prize as they deserve ; and 
also the trowel and mallet which he used in laying 
the first stone of St. Paul's cathedral." 

In the year 1700, Wren was again elected to parlia- 
ment for the borough of Weymouth, and devoted him- 
self to his public duties with the same zeal as formerly. 
St. Paul's was now approaching its completion. The 
venerable Wren still superintended the work upon it, 
but nearly four-score years had rendered him incapa- 
ble of enduring the fatigue of His younger days. His 
son, whose skill as an architect was only inferior to 
that of his father's, had become his assistant in the 
completion of the great temple, and thus relieved his 
father of much of the active labors. "Wren, himself, 
however, presided over the designs, and watched, with 
an anxious eye, the finishing of the work on the cupola 
and lantern. At last, in the year 1710, "when Sir 
Christopher had attained the 78th year of his age, the 
highest stone of the lantern on the cupola was laid by 
Mr. Christopher Wren, his son, attended by the vener- 
able architect, Mr. Strong, the master-mason to the 
cathedral, and the lodge of Freemasons of which Sir 
Christopher was for many years the active as well a? 
acting Master." Such is the simple record of the com- 



SIE CHRISTOPHER WEEK. 85 

pletion of this great work — the proudest, noblest build- 
ing of its day in the British empire. He had been 
thirty-five years in its construction, but it is the only 
work of equal magnitude that ever was completed by 
one man. It was not only the great architect himself 
who watched it from its foundation to its cope-stone, but 
the principal mason, Mr. Strong, did the same, and so 
did the Bishop of London, Dr. Compton, who was also 
intimately associated with Wren in its erection. To 
examine the mighty structure now, one will wonder 
how it was finished in so short a period. St. Peter's, 
at Borne, was one hundred and fifty-five years in build- 
ing; but there was lacking the profound and varied 
learning, the restless activity, the untiring industry, 
and unfaltering perseverance of Sir Christopher Wren 
in its superintendence. 

But upright and pure in life as was the noble Wren, 
he was destined to share the common heritage of such 
men, and tread a thorny path ere he was permitted to 
enter upon his final rest. It will be remembered that 
of the paltry sum allowed him as an annual salary, by 
government, one-half was to be retained until the work 
was completed. Before this event men had risen to 
power "who knew not Joseph" — selfish, suspicious, 
jealous minds, who could not comprehend the great 
abilities of the gifted Wren, nor appreciate his emi- 
nent virtues. The cathedral was, substantially, com- 
pleted, save some few adornments and addenda, and 
here his enemies endeavored to thwart his purposes by 
throwing obstructions in his way — doubtless to prevent 
him drawing the remaining moiety of his hard-earned 
and long-delayed compensation. He appealed to the 



86 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

Queen, but his petition was referred to the commis- 
sioners, who were controlled by the influence of his 
enemies. He then petitioned the Archbishop of Can- 
terbury, and also appealed to the public in a pamphlet, 
but still the cabal prevailed. Queen Anne died in 1714, 
and George the First ascended the throne. A new 
parliament was convoked, new commissioners were 
appointed, a new race of men gathered around the 
Hanoverian monarch, seeking to bask in the sunlight 
of royal favor, by crowding aside those more worthy 
than themselves. One historian says : " His age [eighty - 
three) rather than his infirmities, gave his enemies 
pretenses to annoy him; and the king's partiality for 
his German subjects, their friends and connections, to 
whom Wren would not condescend to stoop, removed 
the personal influence of the sovereign from our patri- 
archal architect." 

In 1718, his enemies prevailed with the king to 
remove the venerable man from his position as Sur- 
veyor-General of the Eoyal Buildings, after having filled 
the office, uninterruptedly, for forty-nine years. His 
genius, and learning, and industry, had enriched the 
nation; his retention in office, so long, had been an 
honor to the reigns of several successive princes; but 
his dismissal, at such an age, with all his faculties 
undimmed, and half his just compensation withheld, 
was a disgrace to the reign of the first George that 
can never be effaced. The special enemy of Wren, a 
man by the name of Benson, who had succeeded him 
in office, was" very soon found utterly incapable of per- 
forming its duties, and, within a year, was expelled 
from it in disgrace, while Wren removed to his house 



SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN. 87 

at Hampton Court, full of years and honors, where he 
spent the residue of his days in peaceful and dignified 
retirement. "Here," writes one of his biographers, 
" he passed the greater part of the remaining five years 
of his life, occasionally coming to London to inspect the 
progress of the repairs at Westminster Abbey, visiting 
his great work, St. Paul's, and indulging, after such an 
active life; in contemplation and study. In addition 
to the consoling study of the Holy Scriptures, which 
had been the guide of his whole life, and with which 
he was well acquainted, he employed this leisure of his 
age in those philosophical studies to which he con- 
ceived it was the intention of Providence that he should 
apply himself more closely. ***** 

" The life of this great and useful man began now to 
draw near its close; but accident, and, perhaps, disap- 
pointment at the ungenerous conduct of the king to him 
at so advanced an age, shortened that life which tem- 
perance and activity had so prolonged beyond the usual 
term allotted to man. Till the time of his removal from 
the office of Surveyor-General, he had principally re- 
sided at a house appropriated to his office, in Scotland- 
yard, Whitehall ; but afterward he dwelt occasionally on 
St. James' street, and remained surveyor of the Abbey till 
the time of his death. He also rented a house from the 
crown, at Hampton Court, to which he made great im- 
provements. Here he would often retire from the hurry 
and fatigue of business, and passed the greater portion 
of the last five years of his life in this calm recess, in 
those contemplations and studies which I have before 
enumerated. 

"In coming from Hampton Court to London, he con- 



88 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

tracted a cold, which, perhaps, accelerated his dissolu- 
tion; but he died as he had lived, with the greatest 
calmness and serenity. The good old man, in his latter 
days, had accustomed himself to take a nap after his 
dinner; and, on the 25th of February, 1723, the servant 
who constantly attended him, thinking he slept longer 
than usual, went into his apartment and found him dead 
in his chair." 

So lived, and so died, Sir Christopher Wren, one of 
the ripest scholars, and certainly the ablest architect, 
that England has ever produced. Perhaps no man ever 
lived a more harmless and blameless life than he, nor 
one of more unremitting labor. An ardent devotee of 
science, he consecrated all the stores of his varied learn- 
ing to the practical benefit of his countrymen, and the 
adornment of the metropolis of his nation. A sincere 
believer in the Revelation which God has given to man, 
he adopted its holy precepts as the rule and guide of his 
faith and practice ; and, from its sacred promises, drew 
consolation to cheer and strengthen him in his age and 
infirmities. Few men have lived so usefully — few have 
died so peacefully. He lived more than ninety years, 
and his death, said Dr. South, " resembled that of the 
saints, and might well be called ' falling asleep;' for the 
innocence of his life made him expect it as indifferently 
as he did his ordinary rest." 

In the latter years of the illustrious Grand Master, 
Masonry had languished in England. Queen Anne was 
no friend to the Order, and public opinion was fashioned 
by reflection from the throne. Her immediate successor 
was neither qualified by mental capacity to appreciate, 
nor in morals to adorn, a society based on the immuta- 



SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN. 89 

Lie principles of morality; hence Freemasonry met with 
no encouragement from the sovereign, and the age and 
anxious cares of the venerable Wren precluded him from 
bestowing upon it his fostering atttention. In 1717, 
there were but four Lodges remaining in the South of 
England, and these were in London. But the Order 
was not destined to become extinct, though royalty 
frowned upon it, and its great annual meetings had been 
for years neglected. In that very year, by the active 
efforts of a few zealous brethren, a Grand Lodge was 
convened; some changes were made in the organization 
and government of the Craft, which infused into it a 
fresh vitality, and it began, with more than youthful 
vigor, a career of expansion and usefulness which has 
continued for nearly a hundred and fifty years. The old 
Charges and Constitutions of the Order were collected 
and revised by a committee, and, after several year's 
careful thought, were reported back to the Grand Lodge, 
and finally approved by that body one month before the 
death of the venerable Wren. Thus that great man 
lived to see the Order with which he had been so long 
associated, for which he had done so much, and which 
he so fondly cherished, begin a new career of usefulness. 
The sun of Masonry, though obscured for years, rose 
again just as that of its great exemplar was calmly set- 
ting. The rising glory of the Order threw a halo 
around the tomb of its departed Grand Master, and 
crowned it with a wreath of perpetual benedictions. 

The life of Sir Christopher Wren is an example for 
every young man, whose habits are yet to be formed and 
character to be won. His stores of learning were the 
accumulations of a life-time. When he left school, it 



90 MASONIC BIOGEAPHY. 

was not to riot upon the intellectual treasures he had 
garnered there, but to add to them. He had just begun 
his studies; his mental discipline had been with a view 
to future labors and greater achievements ; and, instead 
of believing himself so opulent in intellectual wealth as 
to require no further efforts, he conceived that he had 
only acquired a working capital, with which, by patient 
industry, he might make further and greater acquisitions. 
He seemed to regard the mind as capable of almost in- 
finite expansion, and of understanding all things within 
the reach of finite capacity. Hence he quailed not at 
any mental enterprise that presented itself, and deter- 
mined to master whatever subject came within the range 
of his studies — believing the only barrier which could 
prevent further progress was that between the finite 
and the infinite. "With such views of the powers of 
the human mind, it is not to be wondered at that he 
became the most learned man of his day. 

His industry was another remarkable feature of his 
character, and without which the former would have 
been of little avail. Indeed, it was the great secret of 
his wonderful success. Perhaps no one man ever per- 
formed more real labor than Sir Christopher Wren. 
He never considered that he had accomplished any- 
thing, while more remained to be done. He believed 
that industry was the law which the Creator had 
stamped upon human nature, and that idleness was 
a crime no less heinous than profanity or drunken- 
ness. He knew it was his duty to labor, that God re- 
quired this, and, therefore, he found his pleasure in it. 
Hence, from the time he began his education in boy- 
hood, until past the age of ninety years, he was never 



SIR CHRISTOPHER WREK. 91 

idle — save when nature demanded rest. This, together 
with Jiis habitual temperance and strictly moral con- 
duct, was the cause, not only of his uniform good health, 
but of his greatly protracted life. He lived long, be- 
cause he lived right and well. The amount of labor 
performed by this extraordinary man is truly astonish- 
ing. The erection of such a building as St. Paul's 
cathedral, at that age of the world, and with the com- 
paratively limited facilities then at hand, would be 
sufficient to occupy a life-time; it was more than any 
man had ever accomplished before, or, we came very 
near saying, since. But the designing and superin- 
tending of that great structure was not a moiety of his 
architectural labors. He built churches, and public 
edifices, and private mansions, not by dozens, but by 
scores and fifties; and most of them remain until this 
day, the finest, most beautiful, and most substantial 
structures in the great metropolis of England. 

But, in addition to all this, Sir Christopher found 
time to pursue his scientific investigations, and really 
accomplished more in this department of labor, than 
any of his illustrious compeers. The records of the 
Boyal Society not only attest his genius and learning, 
but exhibit his unprecedented labor, and constitute a 
monument of his industry, as glorious and permanent 
as St. Paul's itself. It is surprising, nay, almost as- 
tounding, to look over these records, and see what can 
be accomplished by one man. Yet, not content with 
this, he found time to attend to social duties as well, 
and did more in the lodge-room than any score of 
Freemasons in all England. Plow often we hear men 
of the present day, who perform not one-tenth of tho 



92 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

labor that Christopher Wren did, say, " I have no time 
to visit the lodge ! " Such men should read of tke life 
and labors of this early Grand Master, and cease for- 
ever to make such excuses. 

In another respect was Sir Christopher an example 
worthy of the emulation of all : we allude to his pure 
and blameless life. A devout believer in God, as the 
great creator, law- giver, and redeemer, he conceived it 
his first and highest duty to obey him, worship him, 
love him. Heartily believing in the divine authen- 
ticity of the Holy Scriptures, he embraced their pre- 
cepts as the great unerring chart by which to regulate 
his life ; and having once settled this, to the satisfaction 
of his own mind, he never swerved from duty until he 
closed his eyes in death. His whole life constituted a 
moral structure, beautiful in design, faultless in propor- 
tion, and perfect in detail; and when he had "finished 
his work," the stainless structure was a guarantee that 
his Divine Master would pronounce it "well done." 

Such was Sir Christopher Wren, the most faithful, 
the most laborious, and the most distinguished Grand 
Master in the annals of Masonry, for the last two 
hundred years. Others have been eminent for one or 
more particular trait, or feature, or quality ; but Wren 
embodied every excellence in his character, and left a 
record unequaled on the pages of Masonic history. 
It will be long, if ever, ere the Craft 

"Shall look upon his like again." 



THOMAS SMITH WEBB. 



THOMAS SMITH WEBB 



The name of this illustrious Freemason has been a 
household word among the Craft in America for more 
than half a century, yet but few of those to whom his 
name is familiar know anything about the man or his 
history. As an early and active workman in the mystic 
labors of the lodge-room, and as one who gave form and 
system to the old Prestonian " Lectures," he occupied a 
proud pre-eminence among his compeers ; and the fruits 
of his intelligent and well-directed zeal are now the 
inheritance of the Craft throughout the United States. 
If it was proper, in the early days of Masonry, to place 
the virtues of distinguished and exemplary Craftsmen 
upon perpetual record, it is no less a duty at the present ; 
and, "honor to whom honor," is a precept as worthy of 
observance now as when uttered by inspiration, nearly 
two thousand years ago. We propose, therefore, to 
gather up what fragments of information in relation to 
the history of Thomas Smith Webb we may be able to 
find, and place them on record, for the information of 
the present generation of Masons, and to aid some other 

(95) 



96 MASONIC BIOG-RAPHY. 

more competent hand in fully detailing his labors and 
weaving his history; and for the additional purpose of 
rescuing his fame from the "twattle" of ignorant and 
conceited retailers of pretended "personal recollections " 
of him. 

There was "confusion among the workmen" on our 
mystic temple, at the close of the last century, not only 
in this country, but also in Europe. The old rituals 
which had obtained among the English Masons up to 
1723, when the illustrious Grand Master, Sir Christo- 
pher Wren, closed his active and useful life, had been 
changed and distorted by successive Overseers, until 
they had almost lost their identity. About the middle 
of the last century a schism occurred among the Craft in 
London, and a new Grand Lodge was organized, under 
the name of Ancient Masons. This difficulty was, in 
part, based on an alleged invasion of a landmark in the 
esoteric mysteries of the Order ; and the schism resulted 
in a permanent and important difference in the "work." 
The Chevalier Ramsay soon after came over from France, 
accredited by the Grand Orient, as its Grand Orator, 
and introduced the Royal Arch, in connection with the 
Ancient Masons, and this produced a still wider diverg- 
ence, by both parties, from the original form of rituals. 
The celebrated Lawrence Dermott became identified with 
the schismatic, or "ancient," Grand Lodge, and by his 
zeal imparted new life and vigor to the movement. 
About the year 1756, he published the first edition of 
his Ahiman Rezon, as a rival of Anderson's Charges and 
Constitutions, which were first printed in 1723. The 
" Ancient Charges of a Freemason," as well as the " Gen- 
eral Regulations," contained in the Ahiman Rezon, were, 



THOMAS SMITH WEBB. 97 

in many essential particulars, different from the authentic 
and accredited work of Anderson ; and as this new com- 
pilation became the acknowledged standard of the schis- 
matics, the change in the rituals, so far as they are 
affected by written laws, became still greater, and as- 
sumed a permanent form. 

The two Grand Lodges continued in activity, and in 
opposition, up to the year 1813: each claimed jurisdic- 
tion over all parts of the British Empire, and in coun- 
tries where no Grand Lodge existed. Each planted 
Lodges and propagated its peculiar system of work, both 
in Europe and America, especially in the British army, 
and thus the variance in the rituals spread wherever 
English Masonry extended, until it became radical and 
almost universal. 

The Bifuals of the regular and legal Grand Lodge of 
England were, at the beginning of the last century, ex- 
ceedingly brief, terse, and simple; the whole three de- 
grees not embracing as much, in verbiage, as the first 
degree, as worked in this country, now does. During 
the latter half of the century, several eminent Masons, 
belonging to the Grand Lodge of England, successively 
re-modeled the rituals, amplifying and adding, until the 
entire system was changed, excepting the landmarks; 
and such liberties had been taken with it by successive 
Masonic teachers, that everything was at loose ends, and 
almost every Lodge had its own peculiar system, differ- 
ing, in some respects, from others, even in the same 
jurisdiction. This difference — this great evil — obtained 
in America, as well as in the mother country, inasmuch 
as both Grand Lodges had established subordinates here ; 
and the difference in work was as great in America as 



98 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

it was in England. After Anderson, Desaguliers, and 
Payne had ceased their labors, the Lectures were revised 
first by Martin Clare, A. M., D. G. M., about 1739. 
Some ten years after this, Dr. Manningham made fur- 
ther alterations. Thomas Dunkerly, a natural son of 
George II., an active Mason and very zealous ritualist, 
was the next to introduce changes — about 1770. After 
him, William Preston re-arranged the Lectures, and 
published "his Illustrations," about 1772. His revision 
was generally adopted by the Lodges under the Grand 
Lodge of England, and possibly, to some extent, by some 
of the so-called ancient Lodges. 

Things continued in this state up to 1813, when, by 
an effort of the Grand Masters of the respective Grand 
Lodges (brothers, and sons of George the Third,) and 
other leading Craftsmen, a "Lodge of Reconciliation" 
was held, and a union of the two bodies perfected. It 
was then enacted that, thereafter, one system of work 
should be established, and forever recognized under the 
united Grand Lodge : but as there was a great differ- 
ence in the work, as practiced by the two former bod- 
ies, and neither being willing to give up its own work 
entire and adopt the other's, it was finally agreed to 
partially ignore them both, and out of the two con- 
struct almost a new ritual, which should strictly con- 
form to the landmarks, and be adopted as the standard 
of the Grand Lodge of England and all its dependen- 
cies. This was done, and the ritual so adopted is still 
preserved in many of the lodges in England, but most 
probably in its greatest perfection by the Craft in Lon- 
don, where extraordinary measures have been adopted 
to preserve it intact. 



THOMAS SMITH WEBB. 99 

An established and uniform work was as great a de- 
sideratum in this country, as it was in Europe; but 
there being so many Grand Lodges here, it could not 
be achieved here as readily as it was there. It was, 
therefore, left to the action of single Grand Lodges, 
which could only be binding within their own jurisdic- 
tions, or to zealous and influential Craftsmen, who might 
be able to secure adhesion to their own forms, in their 
own and other lodges. It required a man of command- 
ing talents and influence, as well as extensive knowledge 
of the rituals, and a zeal which no difficulties could 
repress, to establish a system of work which should 
become universal among American Masons ; a man that 
could grasp the various discordant systems afloat among 
the lodges, and from all these conflicting forms, arrange 
and perfect one complete system, that should harmon- 
ize with the landmarks, be a legitimate exponent of 
masonic principles, and commend itself to the approval 
of Masons throughout the country. The old Preston- 
ian Lectures furnished a basis for this new work, but 
they required to be arranged and systematized by a 
master mind, and commended to the acceptance of the 
Craft by one in whom they had confidence. Within 
the last decade of the last century, such a man was 
found, in the person of Thomas Smith Webb, who will 
form the subject of this article, and to whose history 
we now invite attention. 

This illustrious Mason was the son of Samuel and 
Margaret Webb, and was born in Boston, Massachu- 
setts, on the 30th of October, 1771. The father and 
mother had emigrated from England a few years pre- 
viously, and settled in the metropolis of New England. 



100 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

Their child was named after an uncle of his mother's, 
Eev. Thomas Smith, who was the first settled minister 
of Falmouth, now Portland, in Maine. The future ma- 
sonic ritualist was noted, when a child, for superior 
mental capacities, and for a sweetness of disposition 
and amiability of manners, which secured for him the 
esteem of his teachers and friends, as well as the warm- 
est affection of his young associates — and his parents 
were justly proud of him. As soon as he was old 
enough, he was placed in one of the public schools of 
Boston, from which he was afterward transferred to the 
Latin school, where he made rapid progress, and became 
an excellent scholar. He subsequently mastered the 
French language, in which also he became a proficient. 
He took great pleasure in study, manifesting a determ- 
ination to lay up a store of useful knowledge, while 
young, that would enable him in after life to take an 
elevated and respectable position in society. Devotion 
to his books was a pleasure, and the " early buddings 
of his genius were soon discovered in the poetry of his 
youthful pen, and rewarded by the approbation" of his 
parents and friends. 

After acquiring a good education, he selected the 
printing business as a profession, and served a regular 
apprenticeship to it, in the city of Boston.* It seemed 
an occupation congenial to his mind, for he was fond of 
books. Poetry and music were also his delight, and he 
devoted to the study of the latter a close and careful 
attention. He had a fine tenor voice, and sang sweetly, 

* There is some uncertainty as to whether he learned printing 
or book-binding; it was one or the other; the weight of evidence 
is in favor of his being a printer. 



THOMAS SMITH WEBB. 101 

giving promise already of the eminence which he after- 
ward attained as a composer and performer of music. 

Very soon after completing his apprenticeship, he 
removed to Keene, New Hampshire, where he worked 
at his trade. While residing in this town he became a 
Freemason, having been initiated in Rising Sun Lodge. 
This lodge was chartered by the Grand Lodge of Mas- 
sachusetts, in 1784, there being then no Grand Lodge 
in New Hampshire. It is uncertain at what time Mr. 
Webb was initiated, but as his name appears as the 
twenty-sixth on the list of members of that Lodge, it 
is fair to presume that he was admitted very soon after 
he went to Keene to reside. He was twenty-one years 
of age in October, 1792, and the presumption is he 
went to Keene immediately after his majority; as there 
were but twenty-five members on the roll of the Lodge 
before him, and as the Lodge had already been at work 
eight years, we may reasonably conclude that he joined 
soon after his location in the town. It is possible, how- 
ever, that he went there before his majority, and, under 
the old practice of requiring candidates to be " of ma- 
ture and discreet age," instead, as now, twenty-one 
years old, he may have been admitted before he was 
twenty-one. It is probably now impossible to ascertain 
the exact date of his initiation : it is certain, however, 
that he was a member of the lodge above named, 
which is the earliest record we have of his connection 
with the Craft. 

It was while he resided in Keene,* that he was mar- 
ried to Miss Martha Hopkins, of Boston, and soon after 

* On the authority of a daughter of Mr. "Webb : Kev. Paul Dean 
gays, 1797. 



102 MASONIC BIOGKAPHY. 

his marriage lie removed to Albany, New York, and 
opened a book-store. He had carefully studied the 
rituals of the old Prestonian Lectures, and saw the ne- 
cessity of re-arranging them, and reducing them to sys- 
tem and order. 

At the time Bro. "Webb settled in Albany, that city 
was a great masonic center. Mr. Webb aided in organ- 
izing a Chapter and Encampment, and the degrees of 
the York Eite were worked from Entered Apprentice 
through all the degrees of symbolic, capitular and chiv- 
alric Masonry, up to Knight of Malta. But Webb had 
taken all these " higher" degrees previous to his re- 
moval, (the Bev. Paul Dean, in his Eulogy, says he 
received them in Philadelphia,) and being very zealous 
in his masonic duties, with a mind quick to discover 
and appreciate the beauties of the rituals, he was ready 
to enter heartily into the work, and was soon elected 
Master of Temple Lodge, in that city. In addition to 
the York Bite, the Ancient and Accepted Bite was also 
worked in, Albany at this period, and it is fair to pre- 
sume that Webb there received those degrees, or at 
least a portion of them. 

In 1797, Mr. Webb published the first edition of his 
" Freemason 's Monitory It is said to be "By a Boyal 
Arch Mason, K. T. — K. M., etc." It was printed for 
" Spencer & Webb," by whom the copyright was also 
taken out. The author says, in his preface, that " The 
observations upon the first three degrees are princi- 
pally arranged from 'Preston's Illustrations of Ma- 
sonry,' with some valuable, improvements. Mr. Preston's 
distribution of the first lecture into six, the second into 
four, and the third into twelve sections, not being agree- 



THOMAS SMITH WEBB. 103 

able to the present mode of working, they are arranged 
in this work according to the general practice." He 
says nothing about his authority in the arrangement of 
the degrees of the Chapter and Encampment, for the 
reason that the entire ritual, except perhaps a portion 
of the Eoyal Arch, are substantially of American origin ; 
and they were, doubtless, arranged in Boston, by Bro. 
"Webb himself, assisted by Henry Fowle, Dr. Bentley, 
and one or two others. The skeleton, so to speak, of 
some of these degrees, came from Europe, and the germs 
of others were borrowed from the Scotch and French 
Bites, but fashioned anew by the men above named. 
But this more properly belongs to the historian of Ma- 
sonry in this country, rather than one who is merely 
writing a biographical sketch of an individual. That 
Mr. Webb, however, took a prominent part in the re- 
arrangement of the degrees, and in impressing upon 
them distinct features and characteristics, as well as 
in introducing some new degrees, avowedly to connect 
and perfect the series, and in systematizing the entire 
rituals, we state upon the authority of an old and lead- 
ing Craftsman in Boston, from whom we received the 
facts, in person, in 1858. 

Mr. Webb removed to Providence, Bhode Island, 
about the close of the last century, but the precise date 
we do not know. Bev. Dr. Randall, in his address at 
Providence, on the 24th of June, 1857, says that he 
" removed to Providence at the age of twenty-five." 
This must be an error, for he was twenty-five years of 
age in October, 1796, and we know, by printed docu- 
ments, that he still resided in Albany, in 1799. Dr. 
Randall says, "in 1803 he published the Freemasons 



104: MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

Monitor;" but the first edition of that work, now be- 
fore us, bears date ; as heretofore stated, in 1797. We 
know that Mr. Webb was residing in Providence in 
1801, and that his skill as a workman, and zeal for Ma- 
sonry, were already known and appreciated in that city ; 
for, in that year, St. John's Lodge appointed a commit- 
tee to wait upon him, "and inform him that this Lodge 
(for his great exertions in the cause of Masonry,) wish 
him to become a member of the same." Bro. Webb 
immediately became a member of the Lodge, at once 
renewed his masonic labors with his accustomed zeal, 
and soon rose through the several official positions, 
until he was elected Grand Master of Masons in Ehode 
Island, in 1813, and gave such entire satisfaction that 
he was re-elected the following year. 

After settling in Providence, Bro. W'ebb engaged in 
manufacturing wall-paper, and employed a large num- 
ber of hands. He subsequently disposed of that busi- 
ness, and purchased an interest in the " Hope Manu- 
facturing Company." He was the business agent of the 
company, and kept his store or office in Providence. 
Some years afterward, he sold out his interest in that 
establishment, and went to Walpole, Mass., twelve miles 
from Boston, where he built and set in operation a cot- 
ton factory of his own. He kept a business office in 
Boston, and spent a part of his time in the city, and a 
portion in Walpole. He continued in this business 
until 1817, when he sent the machinery of his establish- 
ment to Worthington, Ohio, intending to establish the 
business in that town — Bro. John Snow, a former busi- 
ness and masonic associate in Providence, we believe, 
taking the oversight of the establishment. But we will 



THOMAS SMITH WEBB. 105 

go back a little, to note other matters connected with 
the history of this distinguished Freemason. 

There is a historic fact connected with the history of 
Masonry in Ehode Island, during the Grand Mastership 
of Thomas Smith "Webb, which is especially worthy of 
record, as it indicates a peculiar feature of Masonry. 
Every true and genuine Mason is, as well, or ought to 
be, a patriotic citizen — "true to his government and just 
to his country." During the time Mr. Webb presided 
in the Orient of Ehode Island, this country was at war 
with England; and the Grand Master, as well as the 
whole Craft, was warmly enlisted in the cause of the 
country. At a session of the Grand Lodge, on the 
27th of September, 1814, the following resolution was 
adopted : 

" That this Grand Lodge, sensible of the importance 
at all times of aiding and assisting in the defense of our 
beloved country, and deeming it important, at this crit- 
ical moment, that the services of this society should be 
tendered for the erection of fortifications, etc., do appoint 
the E. W. Deputy Grand Master, Grand Senior Warden, 
and W. Brother John Carlisle, a committee to tender the 
services of the members of the Grand Lodge, and such 
of the members of the Subordinate Lodges under its 
jurisdiction as can conveniently attend, to the Committee 
of Defense, appointed by the citizens of this town." 

It would seem that the citizens of Providence, fearing 
an attack from the enemy, had appointed a Committee 
to superintend the erection of such defenses as would be 
sufficient to protect the place, should the English con- 
clude to make an attack upon it ; and it was for the pur- 
pose of aiding in this patriotic work that the services of 



106 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY 

the Craft were thus tendered. The offer of services was 
made and accepted, and the Grand Lodge convened again 
on the 3d of October, with Gf. Master Webb in the chair. 
The rest is better told in the language of the record, 
as it still remains in the archives of that Grand Lodge : 

"The Grand Lodge was opened in ample form. At 
8 o'clock, A. M., the Grand Lodge, with the members 
of the subordinate Lodges, about two hundred and thirty 
in number, formed a grand procession, and, accompanied 
by music, moved to Fox Point, at the south part of the 
town, and commenced the erection of a fort as laid out 
by the Committee of Defense. At sunset they completed 
their labors, having finished a breast- work of about four 
hundred and thirty feet in length, and about ten feet 
wide, and five feet high. After which a grand proces- 
sion was formed, and having marched several times upon 
the parapet, from one extremity to the other, the Most 
"Worshipful Grand Master, in the name of the Grand 
Lodge of the State of Ehode Island, gave, it the digni- 
fied appellation of Fort Hiram. 

"In the evening the Grand Lodge waited upon his 
Excellency, the Governor, and obtained his approbation 
of the proceeding, and his sanction to the name which 
had been given to the fort. Perhaps," continues the 
record, "in no instance has there been a greater work 
accomplished in one day, by an equal number of persons, 
than was done on this ever-memorable occasion. The 
day was remarkably fine, and the brethren evinced that 
refreshment was designed only as an incentive to active 
exertions, when called to labor at an early hour. The 
brethren separated, enjoying the consoling reflection of 
having done their duty." 



THOMAS SMITH WEBB. 107 

This is, probably, the only instance in history where 
the Craft, as a distinct body of men, performed duty in 
the defense of their country; although Masonry has 
furnished a full proportion of heroes in every war and 
in every conflict : when the country was in peril, none 
were ever more ready than they to meet the invader, 
whatever might be the sacrifice. Party spirit ran high 
in Ehode Island, at the period alluded to, and the mem- 
bers of the Grand Lodge were divided in their senti- 
ments; "but the spirit of Masonry rose superior to the 
clamors of party, and in the erection of Fort Hiram, 
beautifully exemplified the spirit of that true loyalty 
which is taught in the principles of this Institution." 

It is not at all strange that Freemasons should be 
loyal and patriotic. It is a cardinal doctrine of the 
Order, that it is not to interfere with the duties which 
a member owes to his country. Every initiate is in- 
structed that his first fealty is to God, his country, and 
his family ; and no duty or obligation which Freema- 
sonry may enjoin can interfere with these first and 
higher duties. But, in addition to this, are the positive 
injunctions of the Order: "In the State you are to be a 
quiet and peaceable citizen, true to your government, 
and just to your country; you are not to countenance 
disloyalty or rebellion, but patiently submit to legal au- 
thority, and conform, with cheerfulness, to the govern- 
ment of the country in which you live." With such 
instructions, received under the most solemn circum- 
stances, and given in the most impressive manner, it is 
not strange that Freemasons should have been noted for 
their loyalty. Some — a few — have proved recreant to 
their duty, and others may ; but it must be chargeable 



108 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

to something else than Masonry. Mr. Webb, therefore, 
and the -Grand Lodge over which he presided, were 
acting in harmony with the principles and instructions 
of Masonry, when they volunteered to aid their country 
at a time when it was struggling in deadly conflict with 
a giant foe. They were not only obeying the precepts 
of Masonry, but were treading in the footsteps of the 
great "Washington and his illustrious compeers of a 
former age, many of whom were members of the Order, 
and as true to it as to their country. Indeed, it is dif- 
ficult for a man to be false to the latter, without, also, 
ignoring his duty to the former. 

Whether the Grand Master obtained his military title 
by thus commanding a Masonic regiment in the erection 
of Fort Hiram, we are not advised, but it is certain he 
was known afterward as Colonel Webb. 

In the organization of the General Grand Encamp- 
ment of the United States, Bro. Webb took a prom- 
inent part; the original conception of this movement 
was, most probably, his, and its completion was mainly 
owing to his zeal and activity. A Convention of Knights 
Templar met in Providence for this purpose on the 6th 
of May, 1805, and, on the 13th, the organization was 
completed, Bro. Webb being elected the first Grand 
Commander. There was, at this time, an Encampment 
in Providence, another in Newburyport, and a Council 
of Knights of the Bed Cross in Boston. Pennsylvania 
had a Grand Encampment of its own, but did not unite 
with the " General Grand Encampment." Webb had pre- 
viously, while residing in Albany, " projected the scheme 
of a General Grand Boyal Arch Chapter, and, in 1798, 
procured a meeting of delegates, from most of the Chap- 



THOMAS SMITH WEBB. 109 

ters in the United States, at the City of Hartford, Con- 
necticut/' where the Institution was organized, and he 
was elected one of its principal officers. At a subsequent 
meeting of that body, in New York, he was elected as 
its presiding officer, but his modesty prompted him to* 
decline the honor in favor of the Hon. De Witt Clinton, 
of New York. 

The Eev. Paul Dean, in speaking of Bro. Webb at 
this period of his life, says: "For these high and nu- 
merous distinctions, he was worthy and well qualified, 
by his extensive and accurate knowledge of the ancient 
and modern history of the Fraternity, and also by his 
perfect acquaintance with the principles, obligations, and 
maxims of Freemasonry. He was apt to teach, both by 
precept and example, and formed to rule in the midst 
of his brethren. He wore his honors with a dignified 
modesty, and happily blended authority with mildness. 
He ruled but to instruct, improve, and benefit those 
whom he honored and loved. Wherever he came, he 
imparted light, and life, and spirit, as well as Wisdom, 
Strength, and Beauty, to our assemblies," 

We have already alluded to the fact that Bro. Webb, 
in 1817, removed the machinery of his manufactur- 
ing establishment to the West, and probably intended 
to make his residence here. He came out himself in 
1816, to examine the country and select a location. 
From this period until the close of his life, he kept a 
diary, in which he recorded his movements and his ma- 
sonic labors, and which we have been kindly permitted 
to examine. We shall, therefore, make brief extracts 
from it, as it furnishes an authentic record of the closing 
labors and incidents of his life. 



110 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

He left Boston, July 29th, 1816, and visited Hartford, 
Connecticut, where he was joined by Major Grinnell. 
They went to Hudson, New York, then North as far as 
Montreal, thence West to Niagara Falls and Buffalo. 
From Buffalo they proceeded to North Eastern Ohio, 
and then through the country to Pittsburgh, Pa. On 
the 15th of September they left Pittsburgh on a keel- 
boat for Cincinnati, where they arrived on the 26th. 
Here he "put up at Major McHenry's; visited General 
Gano's; rode out with Dr. Martin, and took tea with 
Mr. Davis Embree." Dr. Martin, above named, was a 
distinguished member of the Craft, and died but five or 
six years ago, in Xenia, Ohio. Davis Ernbree is still 
living, in Dayton, Ohio — a fine specimen of the early 
Craftsmen of the West. He presided in the first Chap- 
ter of E. A. Masons instituted in this city, and aided 
in the organization of the Grand Chapter of Ohio, in 
October 1816. But to the diary. Bro. Webb says, under 
date of " September 27th — visited the B. A. Chapter" 
in Cincinnati, over which Comp. Embree presided. The 
two friends next visited Louisville, and, under date of 
October 16th, he writes at Lexington, Ky : " Had a con- 
ference with the Eoyal Arch Convention, and agreed to 
give Dispensations to Shelbyville, Frankfort, and Lex- 
ington, for E. A. Chapters." Thus he laid the founda- 
tion of E. A. Masonry in Kentucky, and on the 17th 
of October he " Installed the officers of the three Chap- 
ters in the Masonic Hall." 

Up to this time the Lodges in Kentucky, as in Ohio 
and other Western States, conferred all the degrees up 
to Eoyal Arch, when they had brethren capable of 
working them — their charters expressly authorizing 



THOMAS SMITH WEBB. Ill 

them to do so. In the Eastern States Chapters had been 
organized for some years, and the degrees of capitular 
Masonry were conferred only in the E. A. Chapters. It 
seems to have been a part of Mr. Webb's business, on 
this first tour, to organize the B. A. Masons into Chap- 
ters, and thus separate those degrees from the symbolio 
Lodges. 

"Chillicothe, Ohio, Oct. 22, 1816.— Took breakfast 
with Colonel Brush," who was, at that time, the Grand 
Master of Masons in Ohio. "Columbus, Oct. 25th. — ■ 
Met here with Hoit, Embree, and other B. A. Masons, 
who returned with us to Worthington." "Oct. 28th, 
Worthington. — Making arrangements with the officers 
of the Chapters of Cincinnati, Marietta, Chillicothe, and 
Worthington to form a Grand Chapter." " 29th. — This 
day being appointed for the Installation of the Grand 
officers, a procession was formed and moved to Masonic 
Hall, where I installed the several officers into their 
respective offices. Oration by J. Kilbourne." 

Mr. Webb uses the word "Chapters" here, but there 
were yet really no Chapters in the State. The Chapter 
degrees were conferred under the authority of Lodges, 
and the delegates at Worthington from Cincinnati, Ma- 
rietta, Chillicothe, and Worthington, were simply Boyal 
Arch Masons from the Lodges in those places respect- 
ively. The Grand Chapter of Ohio was, therefore, or- 
ganized by individual B. A. Masons, and not by delegates 
from chartered and constituted B. A Chapters. After 
the Grand Chapter was organized, charters were issued 
to constitute subordinates. 

This is an item of history of some importance, as ex- 
hibiting the manner of transacting Masonic business at 



112 MASONIC BIOGKAPHIY 

that day. It should be borne in mind that there were 
no R. A. Chapters, regularly chartered and legally con- 
stituted. Those above named were merely working 
under the assumed authority of a Lodge warrant. The 
members who had attained the requisite degrees consti- 
tuted themselves into a Chapter, and conferred those 
degrees. The practice was tolerated, because there was 
no State power to grant authority in a regular way, and 
the General Grand Chapter had either not yet assumed 
authority in such cases, or had not exerted it in the 
"Western country. The attempt to organize a Grand 
Chapter for the State was not, therefore, by delegates 
from chartered Chapters, but from self-constituted bodies 
of R. A. Masons. A Grand Chapter for the State was, 
by them, organized, the officers elected, and the dele- 
gates separated and were on their way home, when they 
met Messrs. Webb and Grinnell returning from Ken- 
tucky. At the roadside, under the shade of a branch- 
ing oak, a long conference was held between Embree 
and his associates on the one side, and Webb and Grin- 
nell, two officers of the General Grand Chapter, on the 
other. The result was, that the delegates consented to 
return to Worthington, re-assemble their convention, 
ignore what they had done, and organize a State Grand 
Chapter under the sanction of the General Grand Chap- 
ter. No record of the first organization was preserved, 
and the above facts are given on the authority of one of 
the principal actors, yet living. We record these events 
in connection with the biographical sketch of Mr. Webb, 
as a historical fact worthy of preservation. 

Webb and Grinnell afterward started eastward, via 
Zanesville, Cambridge, Cadiz, and Pittsburgh, and from 



THOMAS SMITH WEBB. 113 

thence to Philadelphia, where they arrived on the 22d of 
November. This, his first visit to the West, seems to 
have been made for the double purpose of viewing the 
then new country, with reference to a business location, 
and to organize Chapters of R. A. Masons in Ohio and 
Kentucky. He was, at this time, the second officer of 
the G. G. Chapter, and Major Grinnell was the Treas- 
urer. "With some efforts they succeeded in having 
Grand Chapters established in both States, under the 
jurisdiction of the G. G. Chapter. A Convention had 
been held and a Grand Chapter for Ohio had been or- 
ganized at Worthington, a few days before the arrival 
of these brethren, but the delegates were induced to re- 
assemble, ignore their previous organization, and renew 
it under the auspices of the G. G. Chapter, as above stated, 
an act which the venerable Embree has often told us he 
has regretted ever since. He has always believed it would 
have been better if they had remained as an independent 
State Grand Chapter. Kentucky seemed to think so, like- 
wise, for the brethren there took measures to retrace their 
steps in a very few years afterward. It was deferred, 
however, until after the celebrated meeting at Hartford, 
in 1856, when the Grand Chapter of Kentucky severed 
its connection with the G. G. Body, and now remains 
an independent State Grand Chapter. 

1818. Under date of Feb. 14th, Bro. Webb writes 
at Boston : " Granted a Dispensation to John Snow, to 
assemble a sufficient number of Knights Templar to 
form and open an Encampment in Worthington, Ohio." 
This was the first Encampment organized in Ohio, if not 
in the West. In October following, in company with 
his youngest daughter, he started again for the West, 



114 MASONIC BIOGKAPHY. 

via New York and Philadelphia, and arrived in Worth- 
ington on the 16th of December. On the 20th ; he issued 
a Dispensation for an Encampment in Natchez, Miss. 
On the 26th, at Worthington, Ohio, he says : " Attended 
the Eoyal Arch Chapter and conferred the degrees upon 
the Bev. Philander Chase, whom I had made a Mason 
in Temple Lodge, Albany, twenty years before." Mr. 
Chase afterward became the Protestant Episcopal Bishop 
of Ohio, and subsequently sustained the same relation 
to the Episcopal Church in Illinois. He was a man 
universally beloved for his simplicity of manners, his 
unaffected piety, and unwearied labors in his profession. 
The venerable prelate died but a few years since, the 
patriarch of that church in the "Western States. Webb 
remained in Ohio, engaged in a manufacturing business 
at Worthington, until the following August. On the 
8th of May, of this year, we find, in his diary, the fol- 
lowing: " Wrote and inclosed to D. Embree charters 
for Madison and Brookville, Indiana, E. A. Chapters." 
These were, probably, the first Chapters organized in 
that State. 

In August, 1818, as shown by his diary, he left 
Worthington to return again to New England. He first 
went to Sandusky and Detroit, and then down the lake 
to Buffalo, where he arrived on the 14th of August. 
From Buffalo he proceeded to the Falls, thence to 
Kingston, in Canada, Ogdensburgh, and St. Johns; 
then through Vermont to Boston, where he arrived on 
the 30th of August. He remained in Boston until 
spring, devoting himself, as usual, to the interests of 
Masonry in its several departments, and laboring to 
build up the mystic temple, and establish it in strength 



THOMAS SMITH WEBB. 115 

and beauty. On the 10th of June, 1819, he started once 
more for the West, by the way of Providence, through 
Connecticut, New York, Niagara Falls and Buffalo. 
Here he took a steamer for Cleveland, and the last entry 
in his diary is dated on the 4th of July of that year. 
The boat seems to have run into Erie, and Bro. Webb 
writes at that place: " Sunday, 4th of July. Started 
at 8 A. M., after taking in wood." This concludes the 
record of his travels; and his life-journey, too, was 
almost ended. He reached Cleveland on the next day, 
Monday; and, for the rest, we are indebted to a letter, 
now before us, written from Cleveland, on the 8th, by 
Samuel Cowls, Esq., to a friend in Boston. We quote 
it entire. 

Cleveland, July 8th, 1819. 
Warren Dutton, Esq., 

Dear Sir: — Having had some acquaintance with you, when you 
was a tutor in Williams College, I then being a member, and having 
no other acquaintance in Boston, particularly having no knowledge 
of Colonel Thomas Smith Webb's famdly or friends, I take the liberty, 
through you, to communicate to them the painful intelligence of his 
death. This I am induced to do by a letter just received from Gen- 
eral Henry Champion, of Colchester, in Connecticut, an acquaintance 
of mine, who passed through this place yesterday, and informed me 
that he was a particular friend of Colonel Webb's — in which General 
Champion, as a friend to Colonel Webb, requested me to take care 
of his papers and effects, and inform his friends in Boston of his 
death, and the attendant circumstances. 

Colonel Webb landed here, from the steamboat, on Monday last, 
in the morning, and came to N. H. Merwin's hotel, where I board, 
and where he stayed until his death on the following day. Through 
Monday, and until after breakfast Tuesday, I was with him consid- 
erable, and did not perceive but that he was in good health and spirits. 
On Tuesday morning he had procured a horse and wagon to pro- 
ceed to Columbus, and at about eight o'clock went into his chamber 



116 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

to change his dress, previous to his traveling. In about forty min- 
utes from that, he was found on the bed in his chamber, senseless, 
in a fit, as was supposed, of apoplexy. His breathing was tolerably- 
regular, but laborious. His pulse, which I did not examine myself, 
I understood was occasionally intermitting, and generally feeble. 
In this state he continued without much alteration, except a gradual 
decrease of the action in the system, until about half-past six o'clock 
in the afternoon, when he expired. 

From the time when he was first discovered, as long as he lived, 
the most vigorous exertions were made by two physicians, who 
constantly attended him, with as much other assistance as would 
be useful, to restore him to his senses. Bleeding in the arm and 
temple, with powerful applications to the surface of the body and 
limbs, with brushes, and warm flannels, and warm spirits, were the 
principal means. At one time there was considerable hope of his 
returning to his senses. He opened his eyes and struggled with his 
hands to resist the powerful applications we were making to his 
surface ; but the hope was of short continuance. Though I am in- 
competent to judge of the means, yet I think his friends may be 
satisfied that all was done that could be done to save him. At any 
rate, there was no want of good will or exertions on the part of 
physicians or others. 

As the weather was warm, it was thought not prudent to keep the 
corpse after the latter part of the day, Wednesday: accordingly, 
about six o'clock, P. M., on that day, the funeral was attended by 
a large collection of people (large for this place,) from this and the 
neighboring towns. He was buried in Masonic order, according to 
a form prescribed in a book of which he was the author. An ap- 
propriate sermon was delivered by the Kev. — Hurford, of Hudson, 
in this State. 

After the death of Colonel "Webb, his papers and effects, of course, 
fell into the hands of Mr. Merwin, his landlord, in whose custody 
they now are, where, I have no doubt, they will be safely kept until 
they are called for. They consist of a trunk, two valises, and their 
contents; his clothes, gold watch and trimmings, and some trifling 
articles about his person. Of these Mr. Merwin thought proper to 
take an inventory, in presence of witnesses. For that purpose he 
called on Samuel Williamson, Esq., of this place, Mr. Charles M. 
Giddings, of Onondaga, and myself. He opened, in our presence, 
the valises, in which were about dollars in specie and bank notes, 



THOMAS SMITH WEBB. 117 



bourne, and other papers, clothes, books, and other articles, of which 
we took a particular account. The trunk he opened, but finding it 
to be very closely packed with books, papers, and other articles, he 
deemed it not worth while to examine particularly the contents, and 
closed it without. A gentleman has gone from here to-day to carry 
intelligence to the daughter and friends of Colonel Webb, at Wor- 
thington, and has taken the letters that were directed there. 

By the little acquaintance I formed with Colonel Webb, while he was 
with us, I am persuaded that his family, as well as society at large, 
must sustain an incalculable loss by his death; and they have all 
my sympathy. I understand that he has left a wife and children in 
Boston. Mr. Cutter, of this place, has written to a friend in Boston, 
giving information of his death, and the society of Freemasons here, I 
understand, are about to make a communication to the family, which, 
perhaps, will make this communication superfluous. Nevertheless, 
I feel constrained, by the particular request of General Champion, 
to give them this information; and as I am a perfect stranger to 
them, I trust you will excuse me for requesting you to be the bearer. 
If any other information that I can give should be desired, I will 
cheerfully serve them. And do, sir, tender to them assurance of 
my sincere regard. 

I am, sir, with much esteem, 
Yours, etc., 

Samuel Cowls. 

The remains of Col. Webb were buried in Cleveland, 
as above detailed, with masonic honors, and the Craft 
throughout the country deeply mourned his sudden and 
unexpected decease. He was in the prime of life, be- 
ing not quite forty-eight years of age; was the best 
ritualist in America, and was universally beloved, for 
his excellent qualities, by all who knew him. 

The scene at his funeral was certainly a strange and 
touching one. He was a stranger in the then small 
village of Cleveland, and strangers were the mourners 
in the solemn funeral train. It was "about G o'clock, 



118 MASONIC BIOGBAPHY. 

in the evening," a singular hour for the funeral. The 
sun was casting his last beams across the calm, blue 
waters of Lake Erie, and the twilight of a summer even- 
iDg was gathering in shadows over forest and field, 
while the solemn tones of the " funeral dirge" rose 
from that group of mourners. It was a Master in the 
Masonic Israel they were bearing to a stranger-grave, 
far from home, and wife, and children, and life-long 
associates. 

"Alas! nor wife, nor children more shall he behold — 
Nor friends, nor sacred home ! " 

Yet he fell among friends, for Masonry secures such to 
a genuine brother in almost any part of the world. Mr. 
Webb's name had long been before the Masonic public, 
and he was known in Cleveland, as elsewhere, as an 
eminent ritualist; and when sickness prostrated him, 
and death followed rapidly in its train, the brethren of 
that place and vicinity, though personally strangers to 
him, gathered around the couch of their dying brother 
with sympathy and aid, and then bore his remains to 
an honored grave, in which they deposited the sprig of 
evergreen, and dropped the fraternal tear. It was a 
beautiful exemplification of the tender and fraternal 
spirit of the Order. 

While Col. Webb resided in Providence, Rhode Isl- 
and, in conversation one evening with a number of his 
masonic friends, he expressed a desire, should he die 
from home, to be brought back and buried in Provi- 
dence, with those of his family who had died and were 
already buried there. After his death, a Bro. Rich- 
ardson, of that city, in consulting with the Craft, 



THOMAS SMITH WEBB. 119 

wished to have measures taken to comply with the 
wishes of their deceased brother. Some suggested that, 
as his remains were already entombed in Ohio, it was 
not necessary to disturb them. Bro. Richardson re- 
plied that he had " pledged a Mason's word to Bro. 
Webb, in his life-time, that he should be buried with 
his kindred in Providence, and that pledge must be 
redeemed." To this proposal the brethren promptly 
assented. Accordingly, a Bro. John Jenks was sent to 
Cleveland, who disinterred the body and conveyed it to 
Providence, where it was again buried — to await the 
resurrection of the last day. Of this latter interment, 
we find the following record: 

" Providence, Nov. 9th, 1819. Yesterday the Grand 
Lodge of Rhode Island solemnized, in this town, the 
re-interment of the remains of Thomas Smith Webb, 
Past Grand Master. At about 11 o'clock, a very nu- 
merous procession, consisting of the Grand and sub- 
ordinate Lodges, Knights Templar, Royal Arch Chap- 
ters, clergy, and relatives of the deceased, was formed 
at St. John's Hall, and, accompanied by a band of mu- 
sic, marched to the First Congregational meeting-house, 
where the religious services of the day were performed 
in the presence of an attentive and crowded audience. 
The prayers and discourses by the Rev. Mr. Bates, 
Grand Chaplain, were highly appropriate and impres- 
sive, and the music, by the Prallonian Society, of which 
Col. Webb was the first president, added, in no small 
degree, to the solemnity of the occasion. After the 
religious exercises were concluded, the procession formed 
as before, and proceeded to the burial-ground, on the 
west side, where the customary masonic rites were 



120 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

observed in committing to the earth the remains of 
this estimable man and accomplished Mason. 

"The following gentlemen, Past Grand Masters, offi- 
ciated as pall-bearers: — William Wilkins, Esq., Henry 
Fowle, Esq., Col. Purkit, Col. Bowen, Ebenezer Tyler, 
Esq., and Richard Anthony, Esq." 

Funeral honors were also paid to the memory of Bro. 
Webb by the Grand Lodge and the K. A. Chapters in 
Kentucky; by Jerusalem Chapter, New York; by Cen- 
ter Star Lodge, No. 11, at Granville,* Ohio, on which 
occasion a funeral discourse was delivered by Bro., the 
Rev. Joseph S. Hughes, G. Orator of the Grand Lodge 
of Ohio. In Boston, his native city, a eulogy was de- 
livered in Boylston Hall, at the request of the Craft, 
joined with that of the Handel and Haydn and Phil- 
harmonic Societies, by Bro., the Rev. Paul Dean. Both 
of the above-named discourses were published, copies 
of which are now before us. Monodies, dirges, elegies, 
etc., were written and published in memory of the noble 
dead, by various individuals. Different masonic bodies, 
Grand and subordinate, ordered suitable entries to be 
made upon their journals, expressive of their regard 
for their fallen brother, and their grief for his sudden 
and early death. 

The old family tomb, in Providence, in which the re- 
mains of Mr. Webb were deposited, has, of late years, 
become greatly dilapidated ; but the Grand Lodge of that 
State has inaugurated measures looking to the erection 
of a suitable monument to his memory — a work which, 
for the honor of the Craft in Rhode Island, it is hoped 
will be soon accomplished. 

Bro. Webb was a poet of no ordinary talents, and a 



THOMAS SMITH WEBB. 121 

musician of rare powers and attainments. That well- 
known song, beginning, "Companions, assemble on this 
joyful day," is sung and admired wherever E. A. Ma- 
sonry nourishes on this continent; and the music, also 
his composition, is worthy of the lines. There are sev- 
eral of his poetic productions still extant, which attest 
his fine taste in that department of literature; and 
some of his musical compositions will be remembered 
as long as the love of harmony is cherished. Some 
time previous to his coming West, he united with 
others in the organization of the Boston Handel and 
Haydn Society, of which he was elected president. 
The first public exhibition of this society was given in 
King's Chapel, when Bro. Webb sang the first tenor 
solo in the Messiah — "Comfort ye my people," etc. 
He was regarded as an excellent vocalist, and performed 
well on the flute and piano. 

His first wife died about the year 1805, and he sub- 
sequently married her sister. He had five children by 
the first, and four by the second marriage, several of 
whom still survive, and reside in Brooklyn, New York, 
and Boston, Massachusetts. 

Mr. Webb was, unquestionably, the most eminent 
Craftsman and most accomplished ritualist of his day. 
He had thoroughly studied the construction, so to speak, 
of the Koyal Art, as well as its symbolism. Where he 
found disorder and confusion, he arranged and reduced 
to system, placing everything in its proper relative 
position, and restoring to the entire ritual order and 
harmony. The various responsible positions he occu- 
pied, as Grand Master of symbolic Masonry in Rhode 
Island, Grand Master of Knights Templar in Massa- 



122 masonic biography. 

chusetts, as well as presiding officer in Lodge and 
Chapter, and the second officer in both the Gr. Gr. Chap- 
ter and the Gr. G-. Encampment — all attest the confi- 
dence of the Craft in his integrity and skill. 

It is generally conceded that Webb arranged and 
systematized the degrees pertaining to the Chapter and 
Encampment, and probably added some, for the purpose 
of completing the systems and series; and some have 
complained of this. He doubtless found the whole 
series in fragments, and scattered abroad, without form, 
system, or harmony. He gathered up the parts, and 
arranged them into a complete whole; it might, per- 
haps, have been better done, but not then. He also 
took liberties with the symbolic degrees; but the ritu- 
als needed revision, and he alone, at that day, was 
competent to the task ; and whether it was an improve- 
ment or not, his name will go down to future ages, in 
connection with the rituals, as the master workman 
of his day. 

The name of Thomas Smith Webb is more intimately 
associated with Masonry, as it now appears in this 
country, both in the arrangement of the degrees and 
the form of rituals, than that of any other man. Up 
to near the close of the last century, there were, strictly, 
but four degrees pertaining to symbolic and capitular 
Masonry — the first three pertaining to the Blue Lodge, 
and the fourth, or Royal Arch. The degree of Past 
Master was not, nor is it yet a degree, in the proper 
sense of the word, but merely a ceremony pertaining 
to an official position. It was, and is, simply installing 
the Master elect of a lodge into office. jS^o separate 
charter was required for authority to confer the Boyal 



THOMAS SMITH WEBB. 123 

Arch. Members of a Lodge, who had attained that 
degree, could, and did, by virtue of the Lodge warrant, 
meet and confer the Eoyal Arch. When so met, sepa- 
rate and apart from all the other members, such body 
was called a Chapter. The Orders of Christian Knight- 
hood, now conferred in an Encampment or Command- 
er y, were also in a disordered condition, and without 
organization. As late as 1790, these Orders were con- 
ferred in but two or three places in the United States; 
in one of these places, simply the Eed Cross was 
worked; in others both the Orders, and sometimes 
additional ones, which have now become obsolete. 

When Mr. Webb entered the mystic temple as a 
novice, he found it in disorder. Some of the parts 
were incomplete, some but rudely constructed, others 
were out of place, and some were — wanting. It had 
the appearance of having been in possession of care- 
less, or uncultured hands, or of ,those who had been 
indifferent to the beauty and harmony of which the 
original design was susceptible. It needed some one 
capable of comprehending the whole scheme to raise 
up the fallen columns, and place them in their proper 
position, to repair or reconstruct the adornments, and, 
where needed, to add additional ones, until the whole 
structure was complete in all its parts. Webb was 
that man. Discovering what was out of place, what 
was unfinished or defaced, and what was still needed, 
he, with the assistance of a few others, .undertook the 
task, nor rested until he had "finished his work." 

Owing to causes named in a former part of this sketch, 
the symbolic degrees needed a revision; the cumber- 
some, obscure, and disjointed lectures of Preston were 



124 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

not in harmony with the language and perceptions of 
the age. Webb separated the several parts, and then 
re-arranged them in forms of greater beauty and har- 
mony. Where a portion appeared incomplete, he fin- 
ished it; where additional ornament or symbol was 
needed, he furnished it; and when he had accomplished 
his task, the entire ritual had assumed a new and more 
beautiful form. In the opinion of many it was too 
elaborate, too ornate, too complicated; but there was 
more harmony and beauty in it, and it -was admired 
because it bore the impress of genius. The chief fault 
of the "work," if any, is in its amount — there is too 
much of it. Fewer words, and less intricate machinery, 
while the essential spirit was retained, would have been 
less burdensome to the memory, and secured a more 
general uniformity. But such as it is, it is practiced, 
substantially, in almost every State in the Union, and 
the name of Webb is a household word from Canada 
to the Gulf of Mexico, and from the Atlantic to the 
Pacific. 

In the system of capitular Masonry, as Webb found 
it, there was but a single pillar — massive, beautiful, 
and of noble proportions. In the opinion of Webb and 
his associates, there were needed additional supports, 
and subordinate parts. To perfect this " inner sanc- 
tuary," the Mark degree was arranged from an exist- 
ing skeleton ; that of Past Master was dignified with a 
position in the system; and the Most Excellent was 
constructed to supply a vacuum, and make the ascent 
gradual and easy to the Eoyal Arch. This wholesale 
addition we have always thought was unfortunate, but 
it received the sanction of the active workmen of that 



THOMAS SMITH WEBB. 125 

day, and has now become so fully incorporated into the 
system of American Masonry that it would be difficult 
to remodel it. An attempt at excision and compression 
would be fatal to its universality, for the Mark and 
Most Excellent are now worked in every American 
jurisdiction, as well as in Scotland and in most parts 
of England. 

The rituals of Webb have been longer practiced than 
any preceding system. That there have been verbal 
changes and modifications, is not to be questioned — it 
is a wonder there have not been more; but the rituals 
are now substantially as Mr. Webb arranged them, 
nearly seventy years ago. No discerning man believes 
them to be precisely as Webb left them — that would be 
too great a tax on credulity; but in some States they 
approximate very nearly to the original standard ; per- 
haps the work, as now recognized in Ohio, approaches 
more nearly the original than in any other jurisdiction. 
It is fitting it should; for here was the theater of the 
great ritualist's last labors, and here he died; while his 
immediate pupils disseminated his system among our 
Lodges, and one of the best workmen of them all was 
long our Grand Lecturer and Grand Master. 

It will be seen, therefore, that, whatever the opinion 
may be of Mr. Webb's work, or of the liberties he took 
with the system as he found it, his name is most inti- 
mately associated with American Freemasonry, and 
will always remain so. His genius will be admired, 
and his labors appreciated, so long as the rituals which 
bear his name are practiced among Freemasons. He 
was, indeed, "a workman most rare," and has left the 



126 MASONIC BIOGEAPHY. 

impress of his great mind deeply graven on every por- 
tion of our mystical structure. 

His private character was untarnished; — a "good 
man and true/' an upright Mason, a kind father and 
husband, a warm-hearted, benevolent, unchanging friend, 
and a consistent Christian. We close our reference to 
this distinguished and exemplary Mason, by quoting a 
stanza, quoted for the same purpose by another, soon 
after his death : 

" Each mingled chord, each wandering note, 
His magic touch would oft combine; 
As dyes that o'er the azure float, — 

Together in the rainbow shine ! 
If music now his soul inspire, 
Harp of the winds thou art his lyre!" 



REV. JAMES ANDERSON, D. D. 



REV. JAMES ANDEESON, D.D 



It has been the good fortune of Freemasonry, in its 
checkered history, to number among its members men 
eminent in all the departments of knowledge ; and when 
pressed by its enemies, by either ridicule or argument, 
it has found among its members men competent to meet 
the issue and successfully repel the assault. Whatever 
emergency might arise, talent and genius and power 
were ever found ready for the crisis; and thus the sons 
of the Craft have been its bulwark in the direst need; 
its ornaments in times of quiet prosperity ; its support 
and strength when the storms beat and the waves 
dashed madly around it. 

It is eminently fitting that, in this series of sketches, 
the name of James Anderson should succeed that of 
Thomas Smith Webb. The latter was the pioneer in 
ritualism in America, and has linked his name, for all 
coming time, with the mysteries of the Order as prac- 
ticed in this country. The former was the pioneer of 
Masonic writers, compiler of the first Masonic book ever 
published — and that book the " Charges " and " Con- 



130 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

stitutions " of Masonry — and the first writer in defense 
of the Order against its most bitter enemies. The one 
put into form and shape our internal or esoteric land- 
marks ; the other the written ones. The one recorded 
the unchangeable designs of speculative Masonry, in- 
volving the fundamental principles, moral and judicial, 
by which the Craft may pursue their labors in all their 
future history : the other, as an operative workman in 
our mystic ceremonies, brought order out of confusion, 
reducing the chaotic mass to harmony and regularity, 
and made the pathway to distinction in this depart- 
ment easy and agreeable. 

James Anderson was born at Edinburg, Scotland, 
August 5, 1662, but the time of his death is uncertain. 
Allibone, in his Dictionary of Authors, says he died in 
1728, and he is followed in this by the New American 
Cyclopedia; while the records of the Grand Lodge of 
England, as published by JSToorthouck, in 1784, assure 
us that he was alive and an active participant in Ma- 
sonic labors as late as in April, 1738. The presump- 
tion is that he died soon after this latter date. 

Born a Scotchman, in Scotland, and educated in Ed- 
inburg, his extensive acquirements and patient literary 
and antiquarian research were attested by works which 
have survived to the present day. He was proud of 
his native land, ardently devoted to its cause, and es- 
pecially jealous of its honor and renown. The first we 
hear of his literary efforts was in 1705. Shortly before 
this period, a Mr. Atwood had published a work enti- 
tled "The Superiority and Direct Dominion of the 
Imperial Crown and Kingdom of England over the 
Crown and Kingdom of Scotland." The subject was at 



BEV. JAMES ANDERSON, D. D. 131 

that time one which greatly agitated the public mind, 
and a question on which Scotchmen were exceedingly 
sensitive. Atwood's book was so offensive to the pub- 
lic sentiment and feeling in Scotland that it was pub- 
licly burned by the common hangman. In 1705, Mr. 
Anderson published a reply to Atwood, in "An Essay 
showing that the Crown of Scotland is Imperial and 
Independent." Whether he had the best of the argu- 
ment in this controversy, or whether it was because 
his sentiments gratified the public pride and feeling, 
we are unable to decide; but it is certain that he not 
only won distinction by the effort, but secured the pub- 
lic applause. The Parliament of Scotland gave him a 
vote of thanks, which were communicated to him by 
the Lord Chancellor in the midst of an admiring and 
applauding populace. In acknowledgment of the abil- 
ity he had shown in defense of Scotland's royal claims, 
Parliament further authorized him to undertake the 
publication of a collection of the "Ancient Charters of 
Scotland, with fac-similes of the Seals of the Scottish 
Kings," and a large sum of money was appropriated to 
aid him in the work. This volume, under the title of 
" Seleetus Dijplomatum et Numismatum Scotice Thes- 
aurus," was not published until after the author's death. 
It was edited by Euddiman, who wrote a preface for 
it ; the seals were engraved by Strutt, and the work was 
published at six guineas per copy. It was regarded as 
a very valuable and useful work, but is now very scarce. 
In 1727 he published, in four volumes, " Collections re- 
lating to the History of Mary, Queen of Scotland;" and, 
a few years before, he had published a very interesting 
pamphlet on "-The Eise and Progress of Freemasonry." 



132 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

This was for the purpose of general information, and in 
defense of the Order against some low and scurrilous 
attacks which had been made upon it. The pamphlet 
did good service, and is yet referred to as evincing a 
high order of talent in the author. 

Dr. Anderson, soon after his first publication, removed 
to London, where he became the minister of the Scots 
Presbyterian Church, in Swallow Street, Piccadilly, 
and probably remained in London until his death. 
About the year 1714 he published a volume of ser- 
mons, but of their merits we are not advised. 

At what time, or in what Lodge, Dr. Anderson be- 
came a Mason, is not known. The first time we find 
his name mentioned, in the brief records of the Order, 
is in 1721. It was at the Grand Lodge convened in 
London, on the 29th of September in that year, that he 
is first named. The members of that body, it is said, 
were dissatisfied with "the copies of the old Gothic 
Constitutions" which were accessible, and "Bro. James 
Anderson, A. M., was ordered to digest them in a new 
and better method." We shall understand this quaint 
language better if we recall the fact that, hitherto, 
nothing pertaining to Freemasonry had ever been put 
in print. The Order had been in a dilapidated condi- 
tion for some years. The annual meetings had not 
been held; no Grand Officers had been elected; Sir 
Christopher Wren, the last Grand Master, was very old 
and infirm, and had ceased his active Masonic labors. 
But four Lodges remained in London, but they had 
preserved the mysteries of the Craft and furnished a 
basis on which to rebuild the grand structure which had 
so long been going to decay by neglect.. Some time in 



REV. JAMES ANDEKSON, D. D. 133 

the winter of 1717, the four old London Lodges, "with 
some other old brothers," held a meeting, at which it 
was resolved "to revive the quarterly communication 
of the officers of Lodges, to hold the annual assembly 
and feast, and then to choose a Grand Master from 
among themselves, until they should have the honor of 
a noble brother at their head." Accordingly, on the 
24th of June, of that year, a Grand Lodge was con- 
vened, a Grand Master was elected, and the Grand 
Lodge again fully organized. It may properly be said 
that at this time 9 the Craft resumed its labors," and 
they found much to do. The usages and customs of 
the Fraternity had been much neglected for many years, 
and it became necessary to " search out the old paths," 
and, in some measure, reconstruct the whole govern- 
mental machinery. The laws and regulations of the 
Order, expressively designated as "the old Gothic Con- 
stitutions," were merely written for the use of Lodges 
and individual brethren. These, doubtless, had become 
corrupted by careless copyists, and, at best, were only 
adapted to a condition of things which had passed away 
in the process of years and the transitions of society. No 
wonder, therefore, the existing regulations were found 
deficient. Society had changed materially in the pre- 
vious half-century ; the Order itself was in a transition 
state, from purely operative to an exclusively specula- 
tive character. The old constitutions did not meet the 
needs of the new order of things, and it became neces- 
sary to revise them, at least, and partially to recon- 
struct them. For this work a man of sound learn- 
ing, of pure moral principles, and of an antiquarian 
turn of mind, was needed, and Bro. James Anderson was 



134 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

selected as "the right man in the right place." His 
previous antiquarian labors pointed him out to his 
brethren as the proper person to gather up the consti- 
tutional fragments of the elder days, and reconstruct 
them in such shape as to fit them for present and future 
application. He was eminently fitted, by education and 
habits of mind, for this important work, and it became 
his special masonic mission. It is said that the con- 
struction of a certain key-stone, pertaining to one of 
the principal arches in the elder temple, was specially 
assigned to one who was designated as " a cunning work- 
man," in order that its workmanship might be perfect : 
so, in the revival of Freemasonry, at the beginning of 
the last century, the organic laws of the Order were 
submitted for analysis and revision to Bro. Anderson, 
as best fitted among all the workmen in England for 
that special duty; and his brethren were not disap- 
pointed in their expectations. 

The preliminaries to this great work were commenced 
at the session of the Grand Lodge held on the 24th of 
June, 1718. Bro. George Payne was elected to the 
office of Grand Master, and, appreciating the neces- 
sity of clear and definite laws for the government of 
the Craft, he "desired the brethren to bring to the 
Grand Lodge any old writings and records concerning 
Masons and Masonry, in order to show the usages of 
ancient times. And this year several old copies of the 
Gothic constitutions were produced and collated." The 
history of this session further states, that the brethren 
" now began visibly to gather strength as a body ; and 
the wish expressed at the Grand Feast for collecting 
old manuscripts appears to have been preparatory to 



EEV. JAMES ANDEESON, D. D. 135 

the compiling and publishing a body of masonical con- 
stitutions, though such an intention is not mentioned 
until three years after." It is a fact worthy of note, 
just here, as showing the extreme caution of the Craft 
at that day, that, on learning the desire of the Grand 
Master to collect these old records and regulations, 
"several very valuable manuscripts (for they had 
nothing yet in print) concerning the Fraternity, their 
Lodges, regulations, charges, secrets, and usages, par- 
ticularly one written by Mr. Nicholas Stone, the 
warden under Inigo Jones, were too hastily burned by 
some scrupulous brothers, that those papers might not 
fall into strange hands." It had become known among 
the Craft that the Grand Lodge was collecting such 
documents with a view of publication ; and, fearing it 
would be injurious to the Order to put any thing in 
print, they rashly and inconsiderately destroyed the 
writings in their possession. What a pity that some 
of a later day had not a portion of the conscientious 
scruples of those stern old Craftsmen of a century and 
a half ago! 

Dr. Anderson immediately set about the work as- 
signed him. The old records, laws, regulations, consti- 
tutions, etc., which had been collected, were placed in 
his hands ; and so perseveringly did he labor, that, on 
the 27th of the following December, he made his report 
to the Grand Lodge, and presented the Book of Con- 
stitutions very nearly as we now have it. The work 
embraced a rapid resume of the condition of Masonry 
up to the close of the seventeenth century. Then fol- 
lowed the "Charges of a Freemason," containing the 
fundamental and universal laws of Masonry in their 



136 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

elementary principles. To this was added the " Gen- 
eral Begulations," designed for the special government 
of the Craft under the Grand Lodge of England. On 
the reception of the manuscript, the Grand Master, at 
the desire of the Grand Lodge, appointed a committee 
from its members, consisting of "fourteen learned 
brothers, to examine Bro. Anderson's manuscript of 
the constitution book, and to make report." His- 
tory has not preserved the names of those "fourteen 
learned brothers," but we have no doubt they were 
selected for their learning, experience, and integrity — 
their knowledge of Masonry, and their devotion to its 
best interests. 

The Grand Lodge was convened again on the 25th 
of March, 1722, at which were present the grand 
officers and representatives of twenty -four Lodges. 
The Committee of Fourteen made their report: "That 
they had perused Bro. Anderson's manuscript, viz. : 
the History, Charges, Eegulations, and Master's Song; 
and, after some amendment, had approved of the 
same." This report was gratifying to Bro. Anderson, 
for his work had passed through a rigid criticism by 
"fourteen learned brothers," and had been approved. 
It would appear that his labors highly pleased the 
Grand Lodge, for, at this very session, Dr. Anderson 
was appointed one of the Grand "Wardens. Immedi- 
ately after the close of the Grand Lodge, he put the 
work into the hands of the printer, and, in less than a 
year, it was completed. On the 17th of January, 1723, 
a special session of the Grand Lodge was called, at 
which "Grand Warden Anderson produced a new book 
of constitutions in print, which was again approved, as 



KEV. JAMES ANDERSON, D. D. 137 

was also the addition of the ancient manner of consti- 
tuting a Lodge," which had been added to the volume 
since it was first reported to the Grand Lodge. 

Thus was completed and published the Book of Con- 
stitutions, which has been a light and guide for the 
Order in all nations and languages to the present time. 
It was a distinguished honor to have been its compiler ; 
and, by his admirable work, Dr. Anderson won a nobler 
distinction than position or birth could have given him. 
His name is yet, after the lapse of nearly one hundred 
and fifty years, as familiar as a household word with 
every intelligent Craftsman the world over; and the 
work which bears his name will be a monument to his 
memory for ages to come, and imperishable as marble. 

After this we hear but little more of Bro. Ander- 
son in the transactions of the Grand Lodge. He had 
accomplished the work for which he was best qualified, 
and then retired modestly to the ranks, to enjoy in quiet 
the honors he had so nobly won. He was, doubtless, 
engaged in his clerical labors as minister of the Scots 
Presbyterian Church, and found sufficient in that field 
of usefulness to occupy all his time and talents. He 
had become involved, pecuniarily, by investments in the 
South Sea bubble, and suffered greatly in consequence. 

At the Grand Lodge in February,. 1735, Bro. Ander- 
son again appeared in that body, and, " representing 
that a new edition" (of the Book of Constitutions) "was 
become necessary, and that he had prepared materials 
for it, the Grand Master and the Lodge ordered him 
to lay the same before the present and former Grand 
Officers, that they might report their opinion to the 
Grand Lodge." At the next session of the Grand 
12 



138 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

Lodge, in March following, "Bro. Anderson was or- 
dered to insert in the new edition of the Constitutions 
all the patrons of ancient Masonry that could be col- 
lected, with the Grand Masters and Wardens, ancient 
and modern, and the names of the Stewards since Grand 
Master Montague." On the 25th of January, 1738, 
the Grand Lodge, in session, "approved of the new edi- 
tion of the Book of Constitutions, and ordered the 
author, Bro. Anderson, to print the same, with the 
addition of a new regulation." This was accordingly 
done, and the literary labors of Dr. Anderson, in con- 
nection with Masonry, were at an end. We find his 
name once again as a member of the Grand Lodge, in 
April, 1738, and then he is seen no more. It is believed 
that he died soon after, for he was, at this time, ap- 
proaching his fourscore years. 



JOSEPH BEANT. 



JOSEPH BEANT 

(THAYENDANEGEA.) 



"Should the sign of distress by a brother be given, 
Though priceless to me is eternity's bliss ; 
May my name ne'er be found in the records of heaven, 
If I fail to respond to that cry of distress." 

Among the masonio brethren of the last century 
whose names are interwoven with the history of our 
country, stands the name of Joseph Brant, the Indian 
Chieftain of the Iroquois. Little is with certainty 
known of his parentage and birth, for "the Indians 
have no herald's college, in which the lineage of their 
great men can be traced, or parish registers of mar- 
riages and births, by which a son can ascertain his 
paternity. Ancestral glory and shame are, therefore, 
only reflected darkly through the dim twilight of tra- 
dition." 

Some have supposed that Brant was a half-breed, 
and that he owed his paternity to Sir William Johnson, 
a distinguished English baronet, who was the Indian 
Superintendent of the Six Nations at the period of his 

(141) 



142 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

birth, and that his mother was a full-blood Mohawk. 
Some have claimed that, at least, one of his parents was 
a Shawanese, while others assert that both his parents 
were of pure Mohawk blood. 

His reputed father was certainly a full-blood Mohawk 
of the Wolf totem or sub-tribe, and tradition avers that 
the son, who is the subject of this sketch, was born on 
the banks of the Ohio, in 1742, during an expedition of 
his parents to the hunting-grounds of the West. He 
was named by his parents Thayendanegea, the English 
interpretation of which has been given as two sticks of 
wood bound together, or a bundle of sticks. Its signifi- 
cation in the Indian tongue may have been strength, or 
it may have denoted two races in his parentage. But 
it is not our purpose in this brief sketch to determine 
whether Brant owed his paternity to an English baronet 
or a Mohawk Chieftain, for his name has as proud a 
place in the annals of the Iroquois as if it were emblaz- 
oned with all the devices of hereditary distinction that 
adorn savage or civilized heraldry. 

Brant's reputed father died during his childhood, and 
his mother returned, about that time, to the home of the 
Six Nations, in New York, bringing with her her little 
son and a daughter. Here the first reliable history of 
our Chieftain commences. His mother soon married 
another Indian, whose Christian name was Barnet or 
Barnard, from a contraction of which, it has been said, 
arose the name of Brant. Others have believed that 
his name was inherited from his reputed, and not from 
his step-father. 

The Six Nations, known in history as the Confedera- 
tion of the Iroquois, had existed in New York for an 



JOSEPH BKANT. 148 

undetermined period of time. Before the white man 
came to this country they were the lords of the soil 
from the Hudson on the east to Lake Erie on the west, 
and from Ontario on the north to the confluence of the 
Susquehanna and Tioga on the south. This beautiful 
country, now waving with yellow corn and smiling with 
villages and glittering with spires, was then an un- 
broken forest, where the wild game roamed, except in 
some secluded spots on the rich banks of lakes or rivers 
where their rude habitations were erected or their corn- 
fields cultivated. In the primitive symbolry of their 
language, they called their country their Great Lodge, 
the east door of which they located on the Hudson, at 
the mouth of the Mohawk; the south door at Tioga 
Point, the junction of the Susquehanna and Tioga; 
and the west door at the great water-fall of Niagara. 
History and tradition are both rich with descriptions 
of the primitive life the Six Nations here led, and 
their footprints are still seen on the mountain-tops 
where the Great Spirit was worshiped, and in deep val- 
leys where their legendary deities were honored with 
moonlit dances. The plowshare now turns the flinty 
arrow from the soil, but the bow and the bowstring and 
the feathery plume are no longer by its side. The stone 
pipe, from which the smoke of friendship curled, is found 
without its reed, and the grim visage of its once lordly 
owner often meets us in the unearthed skull, on whose 
crown once waved the warrior's eagle plume. These 
are the broken but instructive records of the race to 
which Brant belonged, and were deposited in the ar- 
chives of our soil before the white man's foot pressed 
its heavy tread on the ancient home of the Iroquois. 



144 MASONIC BIOOKAPHY. 

Christian missionaries came among the Six Nations 
to teach arts of love and the precepts of peace to a 
people who were fast becoming corrupted by the semi- 
civilization that the pioneer settlers of a pale-faced 
race brought among them. The chalice which the 
white men therefore presented to the lips of these sons 
of the forest was a strange compound of good and evil, 
and the kingly dynasty of the Iroquois faded as civili- 
zation advanced among them. Brant, who is said to 
have inherited a chieftainship from his birth, was in 
his youth brought to the baptismal font, and took the 
name of Joseph, and to his sister was given the name 
of Mary, or Molly, as she was familiarly called. 

Little is known of the youthful history of Joseph, 
except that he was early upon the war-path. The Six 
Nations, at that time, had become allies of the English, 
and when Brant was but thirteen years of age, he 
accompanied Sir William Johnson against the French 
at Lake Greorge, and was present in that memorable 
battle. 

We know not whether his arrow tasted blood, or his 
tomahawk cleft the brow of the foeman in that san- 
guinary contest, but the youthful warrior accompanied 
Sir William soon after in other expeditions, and became 
with him a great favorite, and his protegS. 

Brant's sister Molly was also a great favorite with 
Sir William, and the romantic story of her first ac- 
quaintance with him is still told in the Mohawk Val- 
ley. The traditions say that no Iroquois maiden was 
more sprightly and beautiful than she at sixteen, at 
which age she was present as a spectator at one of Sir 
William's reviews. As a field-officer was riding past 



JOSEPH BEANT. 145 

her, on parade, on a fine horse, she playfully asked his 
permission to allow her to ride along with him upon the 
same horse, behind. To this he gave his assent, without 
supposing she would have courage to make the attempt. 
She, however, sprung with the swiftness of a gazel upon 
the horse behind him, while the animal was at full speed, 
and clinging to the officer, with her blanket and dark 
hair streaming in the wind, she rode about the parade- 
ground to the great merriment of herself and all present, 
except the young officer, who was somewhat abashed at 
the unexpected maneuvers of the Indian girl. Sir Wil- 
liam, who was a witness of the spectacle, admired the 
spirit of the young squaw, became enamored with her 
person, and, as he was somewhat of a Solomon in some 
of his domestic relations, took her home with him as his 
wife in a manner consistent with Indian customs. She 
was ever after treated by him with affection, bore him 
several children, to legitimate which he married her, 
with the ceremonies of the English Church, a short time 
before his death. Such is the story of Sir William and 
Molly Brant, and many of their descendants are said to 
be still living in respectability in Canada. 

There was, at that time, an Indian charity-school in 
New Lebanon, Connecticut, where many Indian chil- 
dren were gathered from the tribes within reach of the 
English colonies, to be educated in the arts and sciences 
of civilization, and to this school young Brant was sent 
by Sir William, and in it he received the rudiments of 
a good English education. Here his proficiency was 
such that he was employed by his preceptor in trans- 
lating some parts of the Gospels and other religious 
books into the Mohawk language. 
13 



146 MASONIC BIOGEAPHY. 

After his return from school he was engaged by Sir 
"William in public employments, and assisted the mis- 
sionaries also at times in their duties in the Iroquois 
missions. It was said by them that he gave evidence 
of Christian piety, and professed an interest in the 
practice of Christian duties. He married, also, a wife 
of the Oneida tribe, had a fixed residence, and employed 
much of his time in agricultural pursuits, when not 
following the chase as a pastime, or engaged in public 
duties by his friend and patron, Sir William. 

The residence of Brant, at this time, was at Canajo- 
harie, near the baronial home of Sir William, at Johns- 
town. The mission of his tribe was under the care of 
Rev. Samuel Kirkland, and a constant intercourse with 
the white people around him seems to have given Brant 
a good knowledge of the habits of civilized life even 
from his early years, and he now adopted many of the 
customs of his white neighbors, retaining, however, such 
of the habits of his native tribes as enabled him to 
exert a commanding influence in all their councils and 
movements. 

About that period, 1766, a new element was intro- 
duced into the social life of his Anglo-American as- 
sociates at Johnstown, by the formation there of a 
Masonic Lodge. His friend and patron, Sir William, 
was its Master, and his pastor, the Eev. Mr. Kirkland, 
and many of his white neighbors, were members. Con- 
spicuous among these was the son and other male rela- 
tives of Sir William, and also Colonel Butler and many 
others who were subsequently so closely connected 
with Brant in the war-paths of the Revolution. 

It does not appear, from the records of this Lodge, 



JOSEPH BEANT. 147 

that Brant or any of the Indians were made Masons 
in it ; nor have we met with any written evidence to 
show that at this early period the American Lodges 
made Masons of any of their Indian neighbors. These 
wild noblemen of the forest had themselves their own 
mystic organizations, some of whose features and cere- 
monies were so akin to the Eoyal Art that they have 
been denominated Indian Freemasonry. They at times 
admitted their white friends into these associations with 
initiatory rites, and gave them Indian names. There 
was also a kindred custom among them of selecting 
some bosom friend, whom they afterward, on all occa- 
sions, regarded as their counterpart, and whose joys 
and sorrows became a part of their own. 

Brant himself held that romantic relationship with a 
Lieutenant Provost, a half-pay English officer, who re- 
sided in the Mohawk Valley, and who was a member of 
the Masonic Lodge at Johnstown. The lieutenant was 
subsequently removed to his regiment in the West In- 
dies, and his Indian friend was advised to drown his 
sorrow by choosing another white friend as a substi- 
tute ; but he declared that no such transfer of his affec- 
tions could take place, and he continued through life 
to cherish the memory of this chosen brother, sending 
him, at times, presents of the richest furs he could obtain. 

New scenes now open in the life of Brant, that are 
so closely interwoven with the history of our country 
that we are compelled to leave the wigwam and the 
hunting-chase of the Chieftain, and listen to him at the 
council-fires, and follow him upon the war-path. It 
had been determined in the councils of the Iroquois, 
before his birth, that the Six Nations should become 



148 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

allies of the King of England, and this agreement had 
often been ratified and confirmed by war-belts. Mis- 
understandings may sometimes have existed, but the 
covenant had not been broken. Sir William had long 
resided among them as the agent of the British Crown, 
but he had so won their affections that they regarded 
him as their own friend and protector rather than as 
the watchful guardian of the interests of England. 

When the American colonies became engaged in con- 
troversy with the British Crown, they foresaw that, if 
they should be compelled to resist the aggressions of 
King George with force of arms, the Indians might be- 
come troublesome neighbors. They therefore sent colo- 
nial commissioners to them to say that this quarrel 
was none of theirs, and to desire them to remain at 
peace with both. But the Six Nations were under 
the influence of English Indian agents who resided 
among them, and they held them to the bonds of their 
ancient covenant as allies of the British King. 

Brant was then the war-chief of the Mohawks, and 
his voice was soon heard at the council-fires of the Iro- 
quois. He heeded not the words of peace that were 
spoken by the missionaries, nor the solicitations of neu- 
trality that the colonial commissioners urged, but he 
remembered only the covenant bonds with the British 
Crown. In 1775 he visited England, but the object of 
his visit there has never been satisfactorily shown. 
He was received in London with marked distinction by 
the nobility, and honored as an Indian king. His 
dress was European, but he wore over it a belt of the 
finest wampum, and by his side a polished tomahawk, 
on which was engraved his name — Thayendanegea. 






JOSEPH BRANT. 149 

Brant remained in England a few months, and it is 
believed that while there he was made a Mason. No 
record has come to ns to show when or in what Lodge 
he became one, but as his name is not found on the rec- 
ords of St. Patrick's Lodge at Johnstown, which was 
near his Mohawk residence, and as he was known to be 
a Mason soon after his return from England, it is pre- 
sumed he was initiated there, and received the first 
three degrees. Whatever prejudices of race may at that 
time have existed in American Lodges, none were then 
felt in those in England, and London was the Grand 
East of the masonic world, on whose ground-floor men of 
many different races often met in masonic brotherhood. 

Brant was accompanied in his visit to England by a 
Captain Tice, who was a member of the Lodge at 
Johnstown, and if the Chieftain was made a Mason in 
London, he found not only a brother in him, but also 
in the Johnsons, Clause, Butler, and many other of his 
old friends at Johnstown, whose names are associated 
with his in the border warfare that soon followed. 
History has written dark pages on these scenes, and the 
name of Brant stands in the annals of border warfare 
as Thayendanegea — the terrible. His war-path was like 
the lightning's track, but while it blasted the sturdy 
oak and the bending willow, and sometimes crushed 
the tender flower, yet it often overleaped or passed by 
objects for which no reason was apparent to the com- 
mon observer. 

Some of these incidents are to be found on the pages 
of written history, and Freemasonry has been incident- 
ally mentioned by the historian as the principle that 
warmed the warrior's heart in the hour of conflict, thus 



150 MASONIC BIOGEAPHY. 

confirming our traditions, and bearing witness to our 
records, that Brant was a Mason ; while other incidents 
are found on the same pages, of equal generosity to 
an unprotected adversary, or mercy to a fallen foe, 
without ascribing any cause. To follow the Chieftain 
through the bloody war-path of the Revolution, and de- 
tail each incident that shows a remembrance by him 
of his masonic vows, and a recognition of the claims 
of brotherhood, would exceed the limits of this sketch; 
but it is justly due to his memory that some of them 
be given. 

"At the battle of the 'Cedars/ thirty miles above 
Montreal, in 1776, Colonel McKinstry, then a captain 
in Patterson's regiment of Continental troops, was twice 
wounded, and afterward taken prisoner by the Indians 
employed in the British service. The previous bravery 
and success of Captain McKinstry had excited at once 
the fears and resentment of his Indian conquerors, and, 
in accordance with the customs of savage warfare, he 
was doomed to die at the stake, accompanied with all 
those horrid and protracted torments which the Indian 
knows so well how to inflict and to endure. Already 
had he been fastened to the fatal tree, and the prepar- 
ations for the human sacrifice were rapidly proceeding, 
when, in the agony of despair, and scarcely conscious 
of a hope, the captive made the great mystic appeal 
of a Mason in the hour of danger. It was seen and un- 
derstood by the Chieftain Brant, who was present on the 
occasion. Brant at once interfered in his behalf, and 
succeeded, by the influence of his position, in rescu- 
ing his American brother from his impending fate. 
Having freed him from his bonds, he conducted and 



JOSEPH BRANT. 151 

guarded him in safety to Quebec, where he placed 
him in the hands of the English, by whom he was 
permitted to return to his home on his parole." 

Brant's friendship was continued to Colonel McKins- 
try during his lifetime ; and, after the close of the war, 
he often called upon him at his home in Columbia 
County, New York, and on one occasion he visited the 
Lodge with him in Hudson. This was in 1805, nearly 
thirty years after the incident above related.* 

In June of 1777, Brant having gathered a large force 
of hostile Indians on the Susquehanna, at a place now 
called Unadilla, General Herkimer was sent with an 
armed force to hold a peaceful conference with, or resist 
him, as circumstances might determine. „ 

Herkimer and Brant had formerly been neighbors 
and friends. They were both Masons, and it is possible 
that the General thought he might still influence the 
Mohawk Chief to engage in the American cause, or at 
least desist from active hostilities. It was a full week 
after General Herkimer's arrival at Unadilla before 
Brant made his appearance, and then he came near his 
encampment accompanied by five hundred warriors. 
He halted at a distance, and sent a runner to Herkimer 
with a message to inquire the object of his visit. Gen- 
eral Herkimer replied that he had merely come " to see 
and converse with his brother Brant." The messenger 
cast his eye from the General upon his troops, and cun- 
ningly said, "Do all these men wish to talk to my Chief, 
too?" He said, however, he would carry the General's 
talk to his Chief; and having charged him not to cross 

* Colonel McKiustry died in June, 1822. 



152 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

the field upon the margin of which they were standing, 
he turned and departed. 

An arrangement was, however, soon made by the aid 
of messengers, by which a meeting was effected. The 
encampments were within two miles of each other, and 
a spot was selected midway, where the respective com- 
manders were to meet. A temporary shelter was 
erected and prepared to accommodate two hundred 
persons. By mutual stipulations, their weapons were 
to be left within their respective encampments. 

Herkimer had already repaired to the council-ground 
with a company of his men, and soon the haughty Chief 
of the Mohawks was seen to emerge from the distant 
forest. He w.as accompanied by a few of his Tory 
friends, and a band of Indian warriors. When they 
approached, a circle was formed, and General Herki- 
mer and Brant entered it, each attended by one or 
two of their principal officers. What a scene was 
here for the pencil ! Both were Masons, yet no 
brother's grip was given. Brant cast his eagle eye on 
his visitor, and inquired the reason of his being thus 
honored. General Herkimer replied, he had come to 
see him on a friendly visit. " And all these have come 
on a friendly visit, too!" replied the chief. "All want 
to see the poor Indians! It is very kind!" said he, 
with a sarcastic curl of the lip. The conversation 
soon became animated, and Brant, who at first was 
disposed to give evasive answers, at length declared to 
Herkimer "that the Indians were in concert with the 
King, as their fathers had been ; that the King's belts 
were yet lodged with them, and they could not violate 
their pledge; that General Herkimer and his followers 



JOSEPH BRANT. 153 

had joined the Boston people against their sovereign; 
that although the Boston people were resolute, yet the 
King would humble them ; and, finally, that the Indians 
had formerly made war on the white people when they 
were all united, and as they were now divided, the 
Indians were not frightened." 

During the conference Brant took a deep offense at 
some remark made by one of Herkimer's officers, and 
gave* a signal to his warriors. They at once broke 
from the conference, resumed their weapons, and the 
war-whoop resounded through the forest. Explanations 
were given, and Brant was soothed and his warriors 
quieted. By agreement, the conference was adjourned 
until the next morning. 

When the Mohawk Chieftain returned to the confer- 
ence he entered the circle attended as before, and 
drawing himself up with dignity, said to General Her- 
kimer: "I have five hundred warriors with me, armed 
and ready for battle. You are in my power; but, as 
we have been friends and neighbors, I will not take 
the advantage of you." At this instant he gave a 
signal, and his five hundred warriors burst from the 
forest, painted and armed for battle, and the shrill 
war-whoop rent the air. It was the scene in Scot- 
land's history re-enacted, when the Highland chief 
brought his armed warriors to the view of Fitz-james; 
and not more potent was the signal, nor proud the 
bearing, of chivalric Boderick Dhu, than that of Brant 
on this occasion. 

The proud Mohawk Chief then advised General 
Herkimer to return home, thanking him for coming 
so far to see him, expressing a hope that he might 



154 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

some day return the compliment, and then turned 
proudly on his heel and disappeared in his native 
forest. 

It was a midsummer morning, and the war-whoop 
of the savage had scarce died away when dark clouds 
overspread the heavens, and the artillery of the skies 
seemed to echo back the Indian battle-shout. To the 
unlettered yeoman of that day the concluding scenes 
of this Indian conference may, in after years, have 
been remembered as the ill-omened emblems of the 
bloody scenes that soon followed. 

Whatever may have been General Herkimer's ex- 
pectations at this conference with Brant, he, at least, 
learned from it that no hope could be entertained of 
the assistance of the Mohawks, or even their neutral- 
ity. Up to this time they had struck no hostile blow 
in New York, but soon the hatchet fell with murderous 
fury. 

The last conference had been held with the Mohawks, 
and Herkimer returned on his way to the settlements. 
Brant, too, passed on to the north with his warriors, 
and joined the forces under Johnson and Butler. In 
the following August the combined forces of the In- 
dians and Tories under Brant, Johnson, and Butler 
engaged the American forces under General Herkimer 
at Oriskany, and one of the severest battles of the 
Revolution, considering the numbers engaged, took 
place. In it General Herkimer fell, at an early hour, 
mortally wounded. 

At the battle of the Minisink, in 1779, Brant an- 
swered the mystic appeal, though falsely given, and even 
respected its sacredness when he afterward discovered 



JOSEPH BRANT. 155 

the imposition that had been practiced upon him. On 
this occasion an incursion had been made upon the 
settlements in New York, near the Delaware Biver, by 
a band of Indians and Tories under Brant, and the 
militia of Orange County had been called to pursue 
them on their return. Brant laid a skillful ambus- 
cade, and drew his pursuers into a situation which 
resulted in a wholesale carnage and defeat. "When the 
-battle was over, and the Indian tomahawk was falling 
with murderous fury on the heads of the unhappy cap- 
tives, a Major "Wood, knowing that Brant was reputed 
to be a Mason, and having, by some means, obtained a 
knowledge of the Mason's appeal in the hour of dan- 
ger, wildly gave the mystic sign. It was instantly 
recognized by the dusky Chief, and his life was spared. 
His cunning, however, did not prevent his detection 
soon after as an impostor, and the withering look of 
scorn which Brant gave him was never forgotten. His 
life, however, was spared, and, as soon as opportunity 
offered, he became a member of an Order whose claims 
to fraternity he had found were recognized even by the 
Indian on the battle-field. He was, accordingly, there- 
fore, made a Mason soon after, while a prisoner at 
Niagara, in a British Military Lodge, and Brant, who 
was present on the occasion, advanced for him the 
customary initiating fees. 

Another incident occurred in the same year, but a 
few months later, in which the shield of masonic pro- 
tection was again thrown by Brant around a captive 
brother. It was in the celebrated campaign of Gen- 
eral Sullivan, so well known in the history of the 
border warfare of our country, that retaliation was 



156 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

attempted by the American army on the hostile In- 
dians, of whom Brant was the leader and war-king. 
An expedition for this purpose had been sent under 
Sullivan into their country, consisting of about five 
thousand men, well furnished with all the means to 
inflict the severest vengeance on the hostile tribes. 

Sullivan had penetrated into the heart of "Western 
New York, and his pathway was marked by a destruc- 
tion so direful as to remain a blot on the history of our 
country. To oppose him, Brant had gathered around 
him all his swarthy warriors, and he was also aided by 
Colonels Johnson and Butler, with a band of Tories 
under them. Both Johnson and Butler were Masons, 
and they had each held official distinction in the Order, 
the first that of Provincial Grand Master; but the 
sequel shows that a ferocity had been kindled in their 
breasts by the war which Masonry did not control; 
while Brant, the Indian brother, was ready, at all times, 
to sacrifice his resentment and wrongs on an altar 
before which his whole heart had bowed. 

It was when the chafed warriors of Brant were flee- 
ing before Sullivan, seeing their corn-fields destroyed, 
their orchards cut down, their villages burned, and 
their helpless families driven into exile — when all that 
could arouse the fiercest passions of the civilized or 
the savage surrounded them, that a small advance 
scouting party of Sullivan's army were led into an am- 
buscade, and nearly all slain, except their leader and 
one other, who were made captives. Lieutenant Boyd, 
the leader, was a Mason, and on appealing to Brant as 
such, he at once promised him his protection. Deem- 
ing his captive brother safe, even with his infuriated 



JOSEPH BKANT. 157 

warriors, lie left him to attend to other duties, when 
Colonel Butler, who commanded the Tories, came up 
and questioned the captive as to the strength and plans 
of General Sullivan's army. Believing that the safety 
of his commander depended on his silence on such a 
subject, and relying on the promised protection of 
Brant, he refused to give the desired information. 
Butler, whose character is infamous in the history of 
the border warfare of the P^evolution, forgetful of mili- 
tary honor and masonic obligation, and destitute of 
that humanity which warmed even the breast of an 
Indian, gave up his captive, in the absence of Brant, 
to the wild fury of his savage allies, and he met his 
death amid tortures too horrible for the page of history. 
The name of Brant, we believe, stands in the archives 
of heaven uncharged with violating his masonic vows. 
Jonathan Maynard, Esq., who afterward resided in 
Framingham, near Boston, and was a prominent public 
citizen of Massachusetts, often related to his friends 
that, in the war of the Revolution, he was taken pris- 
oner in the State of New York, by a party of the 
enemy, composed chiefly of Indians under Brant. Ac- 
cording to the custom of the Indians and Tories, he was 
about to put him to death by torture, and preparations 
were being made to that effect. As they were strip- 
ping him of his clothes, Brant, who was present, dis- 
covered the symbols of masonry marked with ink upon 
the prisoner's arms. All the dark passions of revenge 
at once forsook the warrior's breast, and he interposed 
and saved his captive brother. Mr. Maynard was then 
sent as a prisoner to Canada, where, after remaining 
for several months, he was finally exchanged, and re- 



158 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

turned home. He lived to a great age, universally 
respected, and constantly bore testimony to Brant's 
faithful devotion to his obligations as a Freemason. 

There are many other incidents in the history of fra- 
ternal kindness shown by this Indian brother when all 
was hate and bloodshed around him. We might mul- 
tiply deeds of forbearance which he showed on the war- 
path and in the battle-field to his adversaries, and often 
to defenseless woman and helpless infancy. Eloquent 
at the council-fire, his voice could stir the passions as 
the storm shakes the trees of the forest; cunning on 
the war-path, he could conduct his warriors with the 
secrecy and celerity of the serpent; brave in the battle- 
field, he could drench with blood the strongholds of his 
foes. He fought according to rules which he had 
learned in the schools of the forest, and his enemies 
called him Thayendanegea — the terrible!- Sullivan 
sought to crush him with the skill of civilized (?) war- 
fare, and was afterward known at the home of the 
Iroquois as the Town-destroyer. It were well if a vail 
could be drawn over that part of our country's history 
which shows blood-stains upon the threshold of the In- 
dian, as well as the hearth-stone of the white man. 

When England had exhausted her energies in fruit- 
less attempts to subjugate her American colonies, and 
consented to their independent nationality, she made 
little provision for her Indian allies, and most of them 
became dependent on the generosity of the new-born 
[Republic for their future welfare. Brant had held a 
military commission in the English service, but he had 
received no pay under it during the war, nor did he, to 
our knowledge, receive the usual half-pay for life on hia 



JOSEPH BRANT. 159 

retirement from her service at the close of the war. 
His nation, however, having been despoiled of its for- 
mer rich inheritance in New York, a tract of wilder- 
ness, rich and beautiful, but entirely uncultivated, was 
given to them in Canada by the English Government, 
and, in 1785, Brant visited England, ostensibly to ad- 
just the claims of his nation upon the British Crown. 

It was the desire of the United States to so manage 
its affairs with the Indian nations who were within 
their territories and upon their borders, as to draw a 
vail over the past and conciliate their friendship; but 
the Indians had not forgotten their former native inde- 
pendence, and were not disposed to submit to all the 
new restrictions that were being imposed on them. 
Their council-fires were accordingly rekindled, and 
around them were assembled the war-chiefs of tribes 
who had never met in so general a council before. 
Their object was to effect such a union of all the native 
sons of the forest as would enable them to withstand 
any encroachments on their ancient possessions, or re- 
duce them to Anglo-American vassalage. 

It appears to have been the diplomatic policy of En- 
gland to encourage such a confederation of the Ameri- 
can Indians, and Brant was active in trying to effect 
its consummation. He exerted all his native eloquence 
with the Indians, all his sagacity with the American 
Government, and all his diplomacy with England, to 
rescue his fading race from that oblivion which fate 
had decreed for them. But there was a handwriting 
on the wall, which, even if he could decipher, he could 
not obliterate, and the red men have fallen like the 
leaves of their r^tive forest, and their graves are 



160 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

doomed to be turned by the plowshare, and their bones 
to fatten the fields of the husbandman. 

During Brant's visit to England, in 1785, he was re- 
ceived by the highest dignitaries of both Church and 
State with a consideration due to his rank as an Indian 
Chieftain. His fame had preceded him, and his arrival 
at Salisbury was thus noted in a letter from that place, 
dated Dec. 12, 1785, and published soon after in London : 

"On Monday last, Colonel Joseph Brant, the cele- 
brated King of the Mohawks, arrived in this city 
from America, and after dining with Colonel DePeis- 
ter at the head-quarters here, proceeded immediately on 
his journey to London. This extraordinary personage 
is said to have presided at the late congress of confed- 
erate Chiefs of the Indian Nations in America, and to 
be by them appointed to the conduct and chief com- 
mand in the war which they now meditate against the 
United States of America. He took his departure for 
England immediately as that assembly broke up, and 
it is conjectured that his embassy to the British Court 
is of great importance. This country owes much to 
the services of Colonel Brant during the late war in 
America. He was educated in Philadelphia; is a very 
shrewd, intelligent person ; possesses great courage and 
ability as a warrior, and is inviolably attached to the 
British nation." 

But while Brant was the object of marked distinc- 
tion, even by royalty itself, he did not lose his own 
native dignity. It is related that, on his presentation 
to the royal family, he declined to kiss His Majesty's 
hand, but, with an admirable gallantry, remarked, that 
he would gladly kiss that of the Queen. 



, JOSEPH BRANT. 161 

Brant also became a great favorite with the Prince 
of Wales, and often joined him in his diversions, and 
was a welcome guest at his table; but it is said that 
the dusky Chief lost some of his respect for the regal 
office by the familiarity with which he was treated by 
the royal family. That his own native dignity, how- 
ever, was maintained, is shown by the relation of an 
incident that occurred at a court masquerade, at which 
the guests sought to hide their own personal identity 
in some representation of the features and costume of 
a chosen ideal personage. Brant, on this occasion, as- 
sumed no fictitious garb or character, but appeared 
among the motley throng of pseudo pilgrims and war- 
riors, hermits and shepherds, knights, damsels, and 
gipsies, in his own character and costume as a Mohawk 
war-chief painted and armed for the war-path. He 
was, that evening, the observed of all observers, for the 
pageantry of fiction was unequal to the simplicity of 
truth ; and an Oriental dignitary who was present, con- 
ceiving that the real American war-chief before him 
was some admirable fictitious character, in admiration 
of what he supposed the stranger's mask, attempted to 
examine the Chieftain's nose. In an instant the toma- 
hawk leaped from his girdle and flashed around the 
Mussulman's head, and the hall resounded with the 
Indian war-whoop. It is said that no cry so terrific 
had ever before been heard in the saloons of fashion, 
and that its startling wildness blanched the cheeks of 
all the fictitious heroes of the royal pageant. The 
matter, however, was soon explained; but whether the 
storm-passion of Brant was assumed or real, the bat- 
tle-cry of the Mohawk was not soon forgotten. 
14 



162 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

Neither the social pleasures nor diplomatic business 
of Brant, while in England, interfered with his desire 
for the civilization and moral improvement of his Indian 
kindred; and we accordingly find him engaged, while 
there, in a retranslation of the Gospel of St. Mark, 
the Prayer Book, and other devotional works into the 
Mohawk^ language, his former translation having been 
lost or destroyed during the war. Having accomplished 
the purposes of his mission, he left the gay metropolis 
of England, returned to his home in Canada, and, in 
his native forests, resumed his domestic employments. 
His intercourse and correspondence with distinguished 
Europeans were still continued, and his active mind 
was constantly employed in subverting the intrigues of 
the Colonial Government in Canada to despoil his 
Nation of their lands, and of the Government of the 
United States in dividing and removing the tribes 
within their boundaries, which he had sought, after the 
close of the war, to fix and unite in one common con- 
federation, more potent and extensive than the famed 
league of the Iroquois. 

In the pursuit of such objects he often visited dis- 
tinguished citizens of the Republic, and held corre- 
spondence with them. He sometimes passed, in his 
journeys to New York, through the scenes of his former 
exploits during the war, and was not always free, on 
such occasions, from personal danger; for the wild pas- 
sions aroused in civil war are not soon forgotten, and 
he, no doubt, bore the reproach of cruelties due to the 
baseness of Tory, and not to Indian warriors. 

We know not what intercourse he had with the 
Masonic Lodges of Canada after the war. Few at that 



JOSEPH BKANT. 163 

time existed near his residence, but he was often in 
Detroit and Quebec, where they were held. His name, 
however, stands, as we have already related, proudly on 
the records of the old Lodge at Hudson, in New York, 
as a visiting brother, early in the present century. 

Brant's efforts were entirely devoted to the social, 
moral, and religious improvement of his tribe during 
the last years of his life, and he was justly considered 
his Nation's greatest benefactor. He was a member of 
the Episcopal Church, and the first edifice erected in 
Upper Canada for the services of that Church was 
built with funds he himself collected for that purpose in 
England; and the first "church-going bell" that was 
ever heard in that province was his own free gift. 
His residence was near the head of Lake Ontario, and 
he died there on the 24th of November, 1807, at the 
age of sixty-four years and eight months. His remains 
were removed to the Mohawk Village on Grand Eiver, 
and interred near the church which he had himself 
there erected. Thus closed the life of Thayendanegea, 
the Indian Mason and Mohawk Chieftain. If he had 
faults, let us cover them with the mantle of masonic 
charity ; as he had many virtues, let us cherish, respect, 
and remember them. 

Many anecdotes might be added of the goodness and 
native shrewdness of Brant, in domestic as well as in 
public life; but the limits of this sketch admit of but 
one, and that, though it has sometimes been appropri- 
ated to Bed-Jacket, we believe was a veritable occur- 
rence with Brant. It is said that "when Jemima 
Wilkinson (who professed to be, in her own person, 
the Savior of the world in his second appearance on 



164 MASONIC BIOGKAPHY. 

earth) was residing in her domain in Western New 
York, surrounded by her deluded and subservient fol- 
lowers, she could not fail to attract the notice of 
Brant; while the celebrity of the Chieftain must, in 
turn, have forcibly commended itself to her attention. 
This led, of course, to a mutual desire to see each other, 
and Brant, at length, presented himself at her mansion, 
and requested an interview. After some formality he 
was admitted, and she addressed him a few words in 
the way of a welcome salutation. He replied to her by 
a formal speech in his own language, at the conclusion 
of which she informed him that she did not understand 
the language in which he spoke. He then addressed 
her in another Indian dialect, to which, in like manner, 
she objected. After a pause, he commenced a speech 
in a third, and still different American language, when 
she interrupted him by the expression of dissatisfaction 
at his persisting to speak to her in terms which she 
could not understand. He arose with dignity, and, 
with a significant motion of the hand, said: ' Madam, 
you are not the person you pretend to be. Jesus Christ 
can understand one language as well as another;' and 
abruptly took his leave." A volume might be written 
to refute her pretensions without an argument so apt 
and conclusive as this. 

Note. — The foregoing sketch of Brant is from an unpublished work, 
by permission of the author, Bro. Sidney Hayden, of Athens, Pa. 



THE DUKE OF SUSSEX. 



THE DUKE OF SUSSEX 



-Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex, was 
born January 27, 1773. He was the ninth child and 
sixth son of George the Third. A descendant of the 
House of Brunswick, he not only claimed a noble an- 
cestry, but one that was allied by the strongest ties to 
the ancient and honorable Fraternity of Freemasons. 
His great-grandfather, George the First, his grand- 
father, George the Second, and his father, George the 
Third, were Masons in good and regular standing. The 
same may be said of Frederick, Prince of Wales, son of 
King George the Second; the Duke of York, brother to 
King George the Third; Henry Frederick, Duke of 
Cumberland, and William Henry, Duke of Gloucester, 
who were also brothers to George the Third. The Duke 
of Cumberland was elected Grand Master on the 10th of 
April, 1782. Prince William Henry, afterward King 
William the Fourth, was initiated in Lodge No. 8Q f 
held at the Prince George, Plymouth, March 9, 1786, 
and received the apron and rank as Past Grand Mas- 
ter in 1787. George Augustus, Prince of Wales, was 
initiated at a special Lodge held for that purpose at the 

(167) 



168 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

Star and Garter, Pall-mall, February 6, 1787, and wa3 
elected Grand Master on the death of the Duke of Cum- 
berland, in 1790. The Duke of York was initiated in 
the Britannic Lodge, November 21, 1787, and subse- 
quently received the rank of Past Grand Master. 
Prince Edward, afterward Duke of Kent, was initiated 
in Union Lodge, Geneva, in 1789, and became Provin- 
cial Grand Master of Halifax, and, in 1790, he was 
Patron of the Knights Templars of Scotland. He also 
received the apron and rank of Past Grand Master. 
Prince Ernest Augustus, afterward Duke of Cumber- 
land, and subsequently King of Hanover, was initiated 
May 11, 1796, in a Lodge held at the house of the 
Earl of Moira, and was afterward invested with the 
badge and rank of a Past Grand Master. Prince Wil- 
liam of Gloucester, nephew of King George the Third, 
was initiated in the Britannic Lodge in April, 1796, 
and received the rank of a Past Grand Master. He 
became a Boyal-Arch Mason in 1797, and, shortly 
after, was created a Knight Templar. 

Prince Augustus Frederick, the Duke of Sussex, 
whose masonic history we shall duly consider in its 
proper place, was, during, his younger years, placed 
under private tutors, and received the rudiments of an 
education in the royal household. When sufficiently 
qualified he was entered, with his brothers, the Prince 
of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge, at the Univer- 
sity of Gottingen. He remained for a number of years 
in Germany, pursuing his studies, and made considera- 
ble attainments as a classical scholar. His favorite 
studies were philosophy and theology, though he ac- 
quired a reputable standing in the department of the 



THE DUKE OF SUSSEX. 169 

languages. He had a fondness for travel, and was, 
probably, the youngest English Prince who undertook 
the tour of the Continent. He visited several parts 
of Italy, and was particularly interested with Borne, 
where he was on terms of intimacy with Pope Pius the 
Sixth. While in Home he formed an acquaintance 
with Miss Augusta Murray, a lady of irreproachable 
character, descended from a family which, for centuries, 
had ranked -with the noblest in Scotland. This inti- 
macy ripened into an affection which resulted in mar- 
riage. In a letter to Lord Erskine the Duke thus gives 
a history of this interesting affair : 

" In the month of December, 1792, being on my 
travels, I got acquainted, at Kome, with Lady Dunmore 
and her two daughters, who had just come from Naples. 
The well-known accomplishments of my wife, then Lady 
Augusta Murray, caught my peculiar attention. After 
four months' intimacy, by which I got more particularly 
acquainted with all her endearing qualities, I offered 
her my hand, unknown to her family, being certain 
beforehand of the objections Lady Dunmore would have 
made had she been informed of my intentions. The 
candor and generosity my wife showed on this occa- 
sion, by refusing the proposal, and showing me the 
personal disadvantage I should draw upon myself, in- 
stead of checking my endeavors, served only to add 
new fuel to a passion which no earthly power could 
ever more have extinguished. At length, after having 
convinced Augusta of the impossibility of my living 
without her, I found an English clergyman, and we 
were married, at Eome, in the month of April, 1793, 
according to the rites of the English Church." 
15 



170 MASONIC BIOGKAPHY. 

Having some doubts as to the validity of his mar- 
riage, on his arrival in London with his bride he caused 
the marriage ceremony to be repeated at St. George's, 
Hanover Square, December 5, of the same year. The 
repetition of the ceremony attracted the attention of 
his father, George the Third, who immediately insti- 
tuted proceedings for annulling it, under the Eoyal 
Marriage Act, which placed all marriages in the royal 
family under the control of the Crown. 

This act originated in the displeasure of George the 
Third at the marriage of his two brothers, and it pro- 
claimed every marriage of any members of the royal 
family, contracted without the consent of His Majesty, 
null and void. In accordance with the above, the proc- 
tor of the King instituted a cause of nullity of mar- 
riage against the Lady Augusta Murray, and obtained 
a decree, the effect of which was to set aside the 
marriage contract. In obedience to the same, Lady 
Augusta separated herself from her husband, which sep- 
aration she survived until March, 1830. This inhuman 
act, while it shortened the life of that distinguished 
lady, embittered that of the Duke, and placed the chil- 
dren of the marriage in the most painful and equivocal 
position. 

From the first appearance of the Duke in public life 
he showed himself the unswerving advocate of the prin- 
ciples of civil and religious liberty. Through all the 
political contests he remained a stanch, uncompromis- 
ing Whig. In 1792, when the alarm created by the 
events in France divided the Whigs, he remained true 
to his party and said: "My family came to the throne 
on the principles of the revolution — on the principle of 



THE DUKE OF SUSSEX. 171 

a full, free, and fair representation of the people." This 
noble expression of sentiment manifesting itself in all 
his acts, greatly endeared him to the people, for the pro- 
motion of whose welfare he spent the whole of his life. 

In 1806, in the debate on the restriction of the slave 
importation bill, he joined his brother, the Duke of Clar- 
ence, afterward William the Fourth, and the Duke of 
Gloucester, his cousin, in denouncing the slave-trade. 
His speeches and votes were afterward given in the 
support of all the liberal questions of the day, among 
which were the amelioration of the condition of various 
religious sects, the promotion of education, and the 
advancement of every thing that might tend to the 
elevation of the people. 

In 1815, the war between the landholders and the 
rest of the community began, for the purpose of keeping 
up the prices which a succession of bad seasons, a suc- 
cessful industry, and the difficulty of obtaining a sup- 
ply from abroad on account of the war, enabled them to 
do. He was strongly opposed to this exaction, and 
signed the celebrated protest against the Corn Bill 
drawn up by Lord Grenville. He also took an active 
part in the discussions on parliamentary reform, and 
was the medium of presenting petitions from Corporate 
bodies. In the debate on the Irish Church Temporali- 
ties' Bill, in 1833, he declared that "To support the 
Protestant interest was to show the most perfect tol- 
eration to all sects, for the essence of Protestantism is 
the right of private judgment and complete freedom of 
conscience." Such was his adherence to liberal views 
and policy that he incurred the displeasure of the 



172 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

Crown, and, until the death of George the Fourth, he 
was entirely shut out from court favor, and treated with 
coldness and neglect, and was the only one of the royal 
dukes that was excluded from all lucrative appoint- 
ments. His income was strictly confined to his parlia- 
mentary allowance. His principles cost something, and 
the sacrifices which he made of royal esteem and 
emoluments showed how greatly he prized them. 

It was not, however, in the House of Lords alone 
that he was active in the support of civil and religious 
liberty, and in promoting whatever might tend to the 
welfare of the people generally, but he was literally 
at the people's command wherever his support was 
wanted, and Freemasons' Hall, the London and City of 
London Taverns, or Exeter Hall, were on numberless 
occasions, visited by him to attend meetings in which 
were discussed the great questions of the day. So 
accessible was he to the people, and so highly was he 
honored by them, that he could well say, as he once did, 
in addressing the House of Lords. " I know the people 
better than any of your lordships. My situation, my 
habits of life, my connection with many charitable in* 
stitutions, and other circumstances on which I do not 
wish to dwell minutely, give me the means of knowing 
them. I am in the habit of talking with them, from 
the highest to the lowest. I believe they have confi- 
dence in me, and that they tell me their honest senti- 
ments." 

In addition to his claims to public consideration as 
a liberal and enlightened statesman, he was widely 
known and honored as a patron of science and litera- 



THE DUKE OF SUSSEX. 173 

ture. For eight years lie occupied the distinguished 
post of President of the Boyal Society. A London 
journal says: " Nothing would be more delightful than 
the evenings when Kensington Palace was thrown open 
by his Eoyal Highness to the public. At his soirees 
were to be seen all those who were distinguished in 
science, art, and literature, natives and foreigners. 
On these occasions he took a lively interest in all that 
was going on, and was always the soul of the party. 
Every discovery in science, every mechanical invention, 
every ingenious process, found expounders at Kensing- 
ton Palace. Whatever the enterprise of travelers had 
discovered that was rare and curious, was first to be 
seen there. Nothing like these parties had ever been 
known in the country. Those who had the advantage 
of an entrance into the Duke's magnificent library will 
not soon forget them, or cease to think with kindness 
of the warm-hearted prince to whom they were be- 
holden for so much enjoyment." 

The Duke of Sussex was much interested in the 
present Queen of England, Victoria, and she was a 
favorite of his from childhood. The esteem was mutual, 
and his loss was keenly felt by Her Majesty. Notwith- 
standing the unhappy differences that existed between 
him and the Georges, he never manifested the least 
unkind or vindictive feeling toward them ; and though, 
like all warm-hearted men, he felt most keenly acts of 
unkindness, he never resented them, and was always 
ready to forgive and forget. Though decided in his 
politics, such was the mildness of his manner in assert- 
ing his opinions, that his opponents never became his 
enemies. To his superiors he was always respectful, 



174 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

and to his inferiors kind and condescending; hence, he 
enjoyed the esteem of the one, and the affection of the 
other. The qualities which combined in his person 
were of so exalted a nature that he was eminently 
fitted for the distinguished posts that he occupied. 

Much of his time was devoted to literary pursuits. 
His large and well -selected library, consisting of up- 
ward of forty-five thousand volumes, contained many 
of the most valuable works in the different departments 
of literature, science, and the arts. It was particularly 
rich in biblical works, having the largest number and 
greatest variety of Bibles, in manuscript and in print, 
to be found in any library in the country. Much of 
his time was devoted to the study of the Bible, and it 
was a practice which he kept up to the end of his life, 
to read a certain number of chapters every day. From 
this sacred source he drew those lessons of wisdom 
which guided him in his intercourse with his fellow- 
men, and which enabled him to preserve that harmony 
and consistency of character which was so justly 
awarded to him by all. 

Having said thus much in relation to the Duke's 
principles and general traits of character, we come 
now to speak of him as a Freemason. He was initiated 
into the mysteries of Freemasonry in the year 1798, 
in the twenty-fifth year of his age. His initiation 
took place in the Royal York Lodge, at Berlin. On 
the death of Admiral Sir Peter Parker, Deputy Grand 
Master, and one of the most zealous Masons of that 
day, the Prince Regent, then Grand Master, appointed 
the Duke of Sussex Deputy Grand Master, on the 12th 
of February, 1812, 



THE DUKE OF SUSSEX. 175 

One of the most interesting masonic festivals ever 
witnessed was held in 1813, in compliment to that 
highly distinguished Mason and upright man, the Earl 
of Moira, subsequently Marquis of Hastings, and, at 
that time, acting Grand Master in the place of the 
Prince of "Wales. It was held on the eve of his de- 
parture from England to take upon himself the highly 
important office of Governor-General of India. At this 
festival his Koyal Highness the Duke of Sussex pre- 
sided, supported by his royal relatives the Dukes of 
York, Clarence, Kent, Cumberland, and Gloucester. 
This occasion was otherwise signalized by being the 
anniversary of the birth of the royal chairman, an 
event which has been subsequently celebrated by the 
London Fraternity, and, also, several provincial and 
foreign Lodges. 

The Prince of Wales having expressed a desire not 
to be re-elected Grand Master, the Grand Lodge 
unanimously ^ccted the Duke of Sussex to fill that 
dignified and important station, on the 7th of April, 
1813. The installation was of an unusually splendid 
character, and was attended by thirteen Provincial 
Grand Masters. His Koyal Highness was re-elected 
every year until the day of his death, which occurred 
on the 21st of April, 1843, and performed his public 
masonic services for a period of over thirty years, with 
honor to the Craft and credit to himself. He rendered 
the most eminent services to the Fraternity, both at 
home and abroad. His exertions to unite the two 
masonic bodies which existed in London into one, 
resulted most happily in bringing about a union, and 
gave a strength and stability to the Fraternity which 



176 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

it had not enjoyed, in so remarkable a degree, for 
years. Co-operating with him in this great work was 
his brother, the Duke of Kent, the father of the present 
Queen Victoria, Grand Master of the other body, de- 
nominated the Athol Masons. "When the union was 
effected, the Duke of Kent resigned in favor of his 
brother, and the Duke of Sussex was proclaimed Grand 
Master of the united Fraternity. During the thirty 
years that he presided over the. Grand Lodge, many 
were the changes that occurred in society around 
him. One by one all his royal relatives who had 
taken an active part with him in the concerns of the 
Order had passed away from earth. At the comple- 
tion of his twenty-fifth year, as a testimonial of the 
high regard paid to the Duke for his many and distin- 
guished services in behalf of the Order, he was pre- 
sented with an appropriate "Masonic Offering." The 
Deputy Grand Master, Lord John Churchill, who was 
charged with the presentation, made the following 
address : 

"Most Worshipful Sir: We, a committee of the 
brethren associated for the purpose of presenting a 
votive offering to their Grand Master, respectfully ap- 
proach your Royal Highness to express the feelings 
and to fulfill the wishes of the great body of Masons 
whom we represent. For them, sir, and for ourselves, 
we fervently acknowledge the deep debt of gratitude 
due to your Eoyal Highness from the Craft of England. 
We do honor to ourselves in thus publicly proclaiming 
the truth and the boast that the illustrious Prince 
who, during the twenty-five years now rolled by, has 



THE DUKE OF SUSSEX. 177 

ruled the Order by its own free choice, has rendered 
to Masonry services unparalleled in its history. For 
the high social rank which the Fraternity nows holds 
in this country; for the absolute exclusion from our 
peaceful temple of those divisions, religious and politi- 
cal, by which men are elsewhere distracted; for our 
increased and increasing prosperity, we feel, and we 
glory in the recollection, how much we owe to your 
Eoyal Highness. The events of the last quarter of a 
century afford a bright example to other countries, and 
to future times, how perfectly, in the hands of a wise, 
benevolent, and zealous ruler, the freedom of our insti- 
tutions may consist with the preservation of union and 
discipline, the happiness of our members, and the pro- 
motion of all those high interests which are the great 
objects of Freemasonry. 

"In testimony of the deep sense which we and our 
brother subscribers entertain of the obligations which 
we owe in common with every member of the Order, 
we pray your Eoyal Highness to be pleased to accept 
the work of art which is now before us. It will, we 
are persuaded, derive value in your Koyal Highness's 
estimation, from the circumstance that in this offering 
of gratitude Masons of all ranks and in all countries 
have concurred. Toward this grateful object contribu- 
tions have spontaneously flowed from brethren far and 
near, as lodges and as individuals, from the Prov. Grand 
Master to the Entered Apprentice — from the British 
Isles to the furthest parts of the world. The sentiments 
which the brethren entertain toward your Royal High- 
ness have proved to be as universal as the principles 
which they are taught to profess. To preserve some 



178 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

record of these sentiments, and the occasion and mode 
of their expression, we have embodied, in print, a 
statement of the circumstances attending this offering. 
And we further pray your Royal Highness to accept 
this copy of the little volume, from which the future 
historian may learn how strong and how just are the 
feelings by which we are animated toward our illustri- 
ous Grand Master. 

" Finally, and in the heartfelt consciousness that in 
this prayer every good Mason will unite, we supplicate 
the Great Architect of the Universe that the favors 
of heaven may be continued to him who has so well 
deserved them, and that your Royal Highness may 
long rule in health and happiness over a grateful and 
united brotherhood." 

After the ceremony of presentation was ended, his 
Royal Highness arose, and spoke as follows; 

"Right Worshipful Deputy Grand Master, 
Provincial Grand Masters, Officers of the 
Grand Lodge, and Brethren: I rise, under feelings 
of intense interest, and, if I may use the expression, 
amid a warfare of feelings, to utter my humble and 
sincere thanks for the kindness evinced to me on the 
present occasion. It is not the trifle that is offered, 
but the sensation that it has produced, which affects 
me; it is of a mingled nature, and, consequently, very 
difficult to express. 

" Surrounded by so many faces, seeing so many kind 
friends, and yet marking vacancies, crowded as the 
tables are, which cast a shade upon thought, it is im- 



THE DUKE OF SUSSEX. 179 

possible to feel very lively, or that I should express 
myself as I ought. You have kindly noticed the past 
period of twenty-five years, to me years of great anxiety, 
I have presided over you, with fidelity, yet sometimes 
with feeling of oppression. Your kindness has given 
vigor, and I feel renovated, and from that kindness I 
have derived my confidence. In my career I have 
met with many and severe trials — trials to which 
human nature ought to be exposed, and which, as a 
Mason, it was my duty to bear up against. I have 
observed many a kind head has been laid low, and my 
account must be rendered up. On the mercy of God 
I have ever relied, and in the rectitude of my con- 
science I shall lay my head down in peace. This is a 
subject which every morning a Mason should call to 
mind when he supplicates his Maker, and when he closes 
his eyes. When the profane, who do not know our 
mysteries, are carried away by prejudice, and do not 
acknowledge the value of our society, let them, by our 
conduct, learn that a good Mason is a good, moral 
man, and, as such, will not trifle with his obligation. 
The principles of morality I am bound to enforce, and 
did I not, I should betray the confidence reposed in me. 
For myself, I want no compliment — no favor. Deeply 
as I am indebted to the brethren, yet I could not 
receive a compliment out of the fund of the Grand 
Lodge. Twice I have refused that compliment, because 
that is a public property, to be appropriated to masonic 
matters only, and it would be highly incorrect to en- 
croach upon it in any other way; and if one farthing 
of it is touched for any other purpose than that of 
charity, you would be wanting in your duty. The 



180 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

brethren then listened to me, and the matter dropped. 
I, however, stated, that if, at some future period, a 
spontaneous and united offer of a compliment, not 
taken from the public fund, was decided upon, after 
twenty-five years of service I would not object. The 
Duke of Sussex, in accepting this offering, can not be 
accused of robbing the poor Mason of a single penny. 
Arriving at the twenty-fifth year of my presidency, it 
is a warning to me how I am placed. 

" My duty as your Grand Master is to take care 
that no political or religious question intrudes itself, 
and had I thought that, in presenting this tribute, any 
political feeling had influenced the brethren, I can 
only say that then the Grand Master would not have 
been gratified. Our object is unanimity, and we can 
find a' center of unanimity unknown elsewhere. I 
recollect, twenty-five years ago, at a meeting in many 
respects similar to the present, a magnificent jewel, by 
a voluntary vote, was presented to the Earl of Moira 
previous to his journey to India. I had the honor to 
preside) and I remember the powerful and beautiful ap- 
peal which that excellent brother made on the occasion. 
I am now sixty years of age ; I say this without regret. 
The true Mason ought to think that the first day of his 
birth is but a step on his way to the final close of life. 
"When I tell you that I have completed forty years of a 
masonic life, — there may be older Masons — but that is a 
pretty good specimen of my attachment to the Order. 

"In 1798 I entered Masonry in a Lodge at Berlin, 
and there I served several offices, and, as Warden, was 
representative of the Lodge in the Grand Lodge of En- 
gland. I afterward was acknowledged and received 



THE DUKE OF SUSSEX. 181 

with the usual compliment paid to a member of the 
Royal Family, by being appointed a Past Grand "Warden. 
I again went abroad for three years, and, on my return, 
joined various Lodges, and, on the retirement of the 
Prince Eegent, who became Patron of the Order, I was 
elected Grand Master. An epoch of considerable inter- 
est intervened, and I became charged, in 1813-14, with 
a most important mission — the union of the two Lon- 
don societies. My most excellent brother, the Duke of 
Kent, accepted the title of Grand Master of the Athol 
Masons, as they were denominated. I was Grand 
Master of those called the Prince of Wales' Masons. 
In three months we carried the union of the two socie- 
ties, and I had the happiness of presiding over the 
united Fraternity. This I consider to have been the 
happiest event of my life. It brought all Masons upon 
the level and the square, and showed the world at large 
that the differences of common life did not exist in 
Masonry; and it showed to Masons that by a long pull, 
a strong pull, and a pull altogether, what great good 
might be affected. I have endeavored, all through my 
masonic career, to bring into Masonry the great fact 
that, from the highest to the lowest, all should feel con- 
vinced that the one could not exist without the other. 
Every Mason owes respect to the recognized institutions 
of society, and the higher his station the more is required 
from him. The great power of Masonry is the exam- 
ple; the chain extends from the highest to the lowest, 
and, if one link should break, the whole is endangered. 
"I recommend to you order, regularity, and observ- 
ance of masonic duties. If you differ with any brother, 
never attribute sinister motives to him with whom you 



182 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

differ. These are the principles, brethren, which I 
hope to enforce; and many a time have I checked 
myself from too marked an expression, thinking that a 
brother might not be aware of his position — and we 
have argued the matter in private. I trust, in this, 
the twenty-fifth year of my presidency, I may not be 
considered saying too much by declaring what I have 
always done. I am grateful for the kindness and 
affection hitherto shown, and that my government, as 
far as it may be so considered, is one of kindness and 
confidence. I once again enjoin the observance of the 
laws, which are founded upon equity, and not spec- 
ial pleading. Equity is our principle, honor our 
guide. I gave full scope to my feelings in Grand 
Lodge, and have forgotten all that passed except those 
of good-will with which I left it; and, I assure the 
brethren that as long as my services are at my own 
command, the Lodge may claim them, but they shall 
be given honestly, fearlessly, and faithfully." 

This was one of the grandest festivals ever held in 
Freemasons' Hall, and the occasion was one of unusual 
interest to the Fraternity. 

At Kensington Palace the Duke exhibited the most 
cheerful and abundant hospitality. At the frequent 
soirees held there, not only could be found royalty, but 
men distinguished for science and literature, church 
dignitaries, and others. He bore the name of ft Britain's 
Mecsenas," the friend of the wise and the good. A 
lover by taste, a promoter by example, he was even 
more exalted as a munificent patron, of literature and 
learned men. Though he had a smaller income than 



THE DUKE OP SUSSEX. 183 

any of the other royal Dukes, his contributions to pri- 
vate and public benevolence were immense. Till within 
the last three years of his life, there were upward of 
sixty established charities to which he was a perma- 
nent annual contributor. His whole life was spent in 
devotion to the public good, and he was willing, at his 
death, that his body should be given to the promotion 
of science. When the Anatomy Bill was passing 
through the House of Lords, an opposition being made 
to it on the ground that the parties most likely to be 
affected by it had feelings of repugnance to its enact- 
ment, he declared that he would not vote for inflicting 
any thing on the poorest man in the realm to which he 
would not himself submit; and, in order to attest his 
own sincerity, and facilitate the operation of a measure 
which he thought so useful, he then avowed his inten- 
tion of bequeathing his own body to a scientific institu- 
tion, that meaner subjects might not afterward shrink 
from the prospect of what a royal duke had, in his own 
case, submitted to. He was always ready to be an 
example and a benefactor to his race. 

The last communication he made to a Lodge was to 
the Grand Stewards of the Annual Festival of the En- 
glish Fraternity, informing them that he intended to 
be present. This communication was dated Kensing- 
ton Palace, April 11, 1843. On the next day he was 
attacked with erysipelas. The best medical attendance 
was procured, and every means employed for his recov- 
ery. Bulletins were issued every day announcing the 
state of his health. As his illness increased, he was 
visited by many of the royal family. On the 20th he 
was visited by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, and 



184 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

also by the Duchess of Kent and the Duchess of Glou- 
cester and the Duke of Cambridge. Nearly the whole 
of the diplomatic corps, Sir Robert Peel, and most of the 
ministers, and about three hundred of the nobility and 
gentry called, in the course of the day, to inquire after 
his health. At noon, on the 21st, surrounded by the 
Duke of Cambridge, his royal brother, and several of 
the nobility, together with the domestics of the Pal- 
ace, whom he requested to be present, he breathed his 
last in peace. The news of his death spread rapidly, 
and demonstrations of sorrow were everywhere seen. 
The bells in London were tolled, and the flags on the 
public buildings and the shipping were hoisted at half- 
mast. Orders were issued for the Court to go into 
mourning, and also the College of Arms, the Horse 
Guards, and the Admiralty. The theaters were ordered 
to be closed. In the House of Commons, Sir Robert 
Peel delivered an address, in which he alluded, in the 
most exalted terms, to the Duke, and the zeal which 
characterized his life in promoting every object con- 
nected with science and literature, of which he was 
himself an illustrious example. At the close of his ad- 
dress the following resolution was passed, nemine con- 
dradicente: "That an humble address be presented to 
Her Majesty to express the deep concern of this House 
at the loss which Her Majesty has sustained by the 
death of his Royal Highness the Duke of Sussex, and 
to condole with Her Majesty on this melancholy occa- 
sion, and to assure Her Majesty that this House will 
ever participate, with the most affectionate and dutiful 
attachment, in whatever may concern the feelings and 
interests of Her Majesty and her illustrious house." 



THE DUKE OF SUSSEX. 185 

A still more eulogistic speech was made in the House 
of Lords, by the Duke of Wellington. In the course 
of his remarks, the Duke said : " I must do his Eoyal 
Highness the justice to add, although I unfortunately 
differed with him upon the general politics of the coun- 
try, and upon various subjects which came under dis- 
cussion, that I always found him most affable and 
condescending to me, and he treated me invariably 
with the utmost condescension and kindness. Having 
had the benefit of an excellent education, and having, 
in his youth, spent considerable time in foreign coun- 
tries, he was a most accomplished man, and he con- 
tinued his studies, and the cultivation of all branches 
of literature and science, up almost to the day of his 
death. He was the protector of literature, science, and 
the arts, and of the professors of all branches of each 
of those departments of knowledge." Addresses were 
also made by the Marquises of Lansdowne and North- 
ampton, and an address ©f condolence to Her Majesty 
was unanimously ordered. Meetings were held by the 
Society for the promotion of Arts, Manufactures, and 
Commerce, by the Common Council, the Jews' Syna- 
gogues, the Artillery Company, and North Britain Vol- 
unteers. The Grand Lodge of England met, and, the 
Earl of Zetland, Prov. Grand Master, in the chair, passed 
appropriate resolutions, as also numerous subordinate 
Lodges. So well was he known and esteemed abroad, 
that the French court went into mourning eleven days 
for him. 

While the Duke was lying in state, his corpse was 
visited by thousands. On the day of his funeral, which 
was the third of May, all the shops were closed, and no 
16 



186 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

carriage or any description of horsemen were allowed 
to remain on any part of the route, from Kensington 
Palace to Kensal Green, through which the procession 
was to pass. The coffin was of the most superb manu- 
facture. The lid was divided into three panels. In 
the upper one was a large ducal crown, in the lower a 
magnificently delineated star of the Order of the Gar- 
ter, with the motto, " Honi soit qui mat y pense." In 
the center was placed a large brass plate, with the 
following inscription : 

DEPOSITUM, 

Illustrissimi principis 

ATJGUSTI FREDERICI, 

Ducia Sus3exise, 

Comitis de Inverness et Baronis de Arklow, 

Antiquissimi et noblissimi ordinis cardui 

et 
Honoritissimi ordinis militaris de Balneo, 
Equitis 
% Patriui Augustissimse et potentissim®, 

Victori se, 
Dei Gratia, Brittanianim Reginse, 
Fidei Defensoris. 
Oleit die viscessimo primo Aprilis, 
Anno Domini MDCCCXLIII, 
^Etatis Suse LXXI. 

The funeral cortege was one of the most august and 
imposing ever seen. The entire nobility of the realm 
was represented on the occasion. Solemn services were 
performed at the cemetery by the Bishop of Norwich, 
and the mortal remains were committed to the tomb. 
Sir Charles Young, Garter King-of-Arms, advanced to 



THE DUKE OF SUSSEX. 187 

the platform through which the coffin had descended, 
and pronounced the style of the deceased as follows: 

" Thus it has pleased Almighty God to take unto his 
divine mercy the late most high, most mighty, and most 
illustrious Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex, 
Baron of Inverness and Baron of Arklow, Knight of 
the Most Noble Order of the Garter, Knight of the 
Most Ancient and Noble Order of the Thistle, Acting 
Grand Master and Knight of the Grand Cross of the 
Most Honorable Military Order of the Bath, sixth son 
of his late majesty King George the Third, and uncle 
of her most gracious majesty Queen Victoria, whom 
may God bless and preserve with long life, health, and 
honor, and every worldly happiness." 

We can not close our sketch of this illustrious Free- 
mason without some additional remarks touching his 
personal traits of character. That he was ' most ar- 
dently devoted to the Order is sufficiently evident from 
his long and faithful services. For forty-five years he 
had wielded the mystic trowel; for nearly forty years 
he had held an official relation; and he had served as 
Grand Master for thirty consecutive years! During 
all this long period his official relation was not a mere 
matter of form or royal condescension, but he took an 
active and affectionate interest in all that concerned the 
welfare of Masonry. His duties were arduous, and his 
labors constant. Up to the very day preceding the 
attack which closed his valuable life, he manifested his 
deep concern in the success of certain benevolent enter- 
prises in which the brethren were engaged. During 
the long period of his connection with Freemasonry, 
the charities .found in him a cordial advocate and a 



188 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

liberal patronage. He was an adroit and efficient 
chairman of meetings to promote the cause of charities 
for masonic orphans, and the " aged and decayed Free- 
masons" and their widows. He was very successful in 
his appeals for contributions, and obtained the flattering 
compliment of being pronounced "the best beggar in 
Europe," a distinction of which he was remarkably 
proud. In the different asylums founded by the En- 
glish Freemasons, both for age and orphanage, his 
memory is yet cherished with most affectionate regard. 
He was a father to the masonic orphans, gathered by 
the Craft into the asylums, to be trained and educated 
for usefulness and respectability in after life. In that 
one for orphan girls, at Clapham Common, near Lon- 
don, there exists a delicate and beautiful testimonial 
of the children's regard for the royal Duke, and their 
appreciation of his services in their behalf. It is a 
sampler, now hanging in the parlor of the institution, 
beautifully worked by the little girls of the school, 
as a 

" Testimonial of respect and gratitude for the liberal 
patronage bestowed on the institution by his R. H., 
Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex, who died April 
21, 1843, aged seventy years. 

"He 's gone, our patron, prince, and friend; no more . 
to tread the festive halls — the Lodge, no more; nor 
will he ever again this house and school revisit; nor 
shall its young inmates share his smiles of affable and 
princely condescension. Farewell, noble Duke of Sus- 
sex, a long farewell; may thy coronet be now a crown 
of glory!" 

There is, also, upon the sampler, in elegant needle- 



THE DUKE OF SUSSEX. 189 

work, the design of a monument, with urn, weeping 
willow, and a ducal coronet. Such a testimonial, from 
infant hands, is a valuable tribute to the virtues of the 
illustrious Grand Master, and an evidence of the affec- 
tion with which his memory is cherished. 

The fondness of the royal Grand Master for books 
was proverbial. A ripe scholar himself, he encouraged 
learning by every means in his power, and collected, 
for his own use, the finest private library in Europe. 
It contained fifteen hundred copies of different edi- 
tions of the Holy Scripture, besides many rare and 
valuable manuscripts. In his will he directed that his 
magnificent library should be offered to the British 
Museum, and, if the trustees failed to purchase it 
within a year, it should then be sold at public auction. 
The trustees declined to purchase, and the library was 
sold, and scattered over the world. We have seen 
some of the volumes in this country, in the hands of 
book collectors, still containing the evidence of their 
former royal ownership. What a pity that such a 
splendid collection of rare and costly works had not 
been preserved intact, either in England or America! 

The Duke was not only the friend of learning, but 
of learned men; and, at his table and levees, as well 
as in his library, were generally found the first minds 
and ripest scholars of the age. ISTor was he careful 
whether such men came of royal blood or of plebeian 
stock, so they excelled in knowledge. When the 
learned Methodist preacher, Dr. Adam Clark, so cele- 
brated as a linguist, came to London, the Duke invited 
him to his palace, and to dine with him. He took him 
into his library, showed him his rare old manuscripts, 



190 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

and consulted him on Hebrew criticism. On such oc- 
casions they would spend hours together, the Duke 
often questioning the good Doctor, and directing his 
secretary to note down the answers as important. 
When the learned and veteran preacher went to reside 
at Haydon Hall, near London, his Royal Highness re- 
turned these visits. He would go early in the day, 
and spend it with Dr. Clark in his library, then dine 
at the Doctor's table, and afterward return to Kensing- 
ton. His love of learning was a ruling passion, and 
he sought many of his most intimate friendships among 
those of kindred tastes, without questioning whether 
their birth was in a palace or a cottage. 

Another peculiarity of this distinguished Grand 
Master was his love of the people, and his feeling of 
kindred to them. Himself an illustrious scion of a 
royal line, he felt that goodness was the true criterion 
of greatness. Though contingently an heir to the 
throne of the British Empire, he looked for social en- 
joyments in affinity with the people, and based his 
hopes of divine mercy and acceptance not on his royal 
blood, but on his moral rectitude. In his address, in 
the House of Lords, on the Eegency question, he 
remarked : 

"At those times, when one may be said almost to 
stand face to face with one's Creator, I have frequently 
asked myself what preference I could urge in my favor 
to my Eedeemer over my fellow-creatures, in whose 
sight all well-intentioned and well-inclined men have 
an equal claim to his mercy. The answer of my con- 
science always was : follow the directions of your Divine 
Master, love one another, and do not to others what 



THE DUKE OF SUSSEX. 191 

you would not have them do unto you. And upon 
this doctrine I am acting. The present life can not 
be the boundary of our destination; it is but the first 
stage — the infancy of our existence; it is a minority 
during which we are to prepare for more noble occu- 
pations: and the more faithfully we discharge our 
duties here below, the more exalted will be the degree 
of felicity that we may hope to attain hereafter." 

Such sentiments, uttered under such circumstances, 
did honor alike to the head and heart of the noble 
Duke. 

In his marriage he ignored established rules, and 
took to his bosom a lady not of royal blood. When 
the heartlessness of his father caused a decree of sep- 
aration between him and his chosen bride because she 
was not of royal blood, he obeyed the law, though it 
outraged every feeling of humanity. After the death 
of his first wife, he married again outside of a royal 
family. And so decided was he in his preferences, 
that he provided for his interment in a public ceme- 
tery instead of a royal tomb, that his dust might 
repose beside that of his chosen and cherished wife. 

Frequently, in social life, the Duke was fond of lay- 
ing aside his character of a prince of the blood, and 
desired to be regarded merely as a private gentleman. 
While president of the Koyal Society, on one occasion 
during a debate, a member, perhaps inadvertently, ad- 
dressing him as "Mr. President," expressed a hope 
that the Duke would not be offended — other members 
had been "your-royal-highnessing" very extensively. 
11 My good, sir," said the Duke, " I always wish people 
to use proper terms in proper places. I am no royal 



192 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

highness here — I am president of this great and useful 
society." 

The Duke had a splendid physique. He was nearly 
six feet four inches in hight, very erect, finely propor- 
tioned, and of most dignified and commanding presence. 
Had he succeeded to the throne, he would have been 
" every inch a king." As the Grand Master of Masons 
he "acted well his part," and left an example worthy the 
emulation of his successors to the end of time. 

We can not better close our sketch of this kingly 
Grand Master than with the following lines, by Bro. 
J. E. Carpenter, of England: 

" Let our tears be shed o'er the funeral bed 
Where our Prince — our friend reposes, 

For the darksome gloom of no royal tomb 
His honored corpse incloses. 

The free, fresh air waves the branches there- 
Let no false pride upbraid him ; 

He knew no state but the good and great, 
And 'mid those he loved they 've laid him. 

" The worldly fame and the royal name 

May pass — we claim another ; 
In the mystic bond he '11 no more command— 

We mourn him as a Brother I 
May prayers ascend for our loved, lost friend, 

From our Lodges' deep recesses, 
In words of love to the Lodge above, 

And from hearts that fervor blesses. 

" Though tears may fall o'er the funeral pall, 

When his earthly course was ended, 
Far, far away, shall the Mason pray, 

For him who all befriended I 
May our minds be squared, and our souls prepared 

Like his, in virtue center' d, 
For the 'Lodge of Light,' in those regions bright, 

Where we trust his spirit 's entered !" 



GEORGE WASHINGTON. 



17 



GEORGE WASHINGTON 



On the "roll of the workmen " who have labored in 
the erection of our mystic Temple there are found many 
eminent and honored names — names that have been 
conspicuous in the history of our race, and which are 
often repeated when the great achievements of the past 
are recounted. The records of Masonry are adorned 
with such on almost every page. We need not go 
back to remote antiquity to search for distinguished 
Craftsmen among its traditionary legends, though such 
were not wanting even then. We have men enough 
and material enough within the reach of authentic 
history to gratify the utmost ambition of the Order. 
The records of our Craft are full, not only of noble 
names, but of the noble deeds of those who have shared 
in our labors and participated in our enjoyments. 
Especially has this been the case in lands where the 
people have enjoyed a rational liberty, and where hu- 
manity has been ennobleol and the mind enlarged by 
the genial and elevating influence of Protestant Chris- 
tianity. Men whose hearts have swelled with the pure 

(195) 



196 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

emotions which religion inspires, whose strong arms 
and great souls have been the bulwarks of their coun- 
try's rights and freedom, and whose living thoughts on 
science, philosophy, and ethics have flashed like sun- 
beams on the intellect of the world; men who have 
adorned all professions that were honorable ; honored 
every calling that was useful ; and won distinction in 
every field of legitimate employment ; among all these, 
and among the most honored of these, we find those 
who were proud to be numbered among the " Royal 
Craft," and hailed by them as Free and Accepted Ma- 
sons. 

For the present, however, we shall go no further 
back than the last century, and no further off than our 
own country, to select a name entitled to all honor, and a 
character worthy of general emulation. We select one 
whose memory and whose virtues are dear alike to the 
native and the adopted, to Christians of all sects, and 
to patriots of all parties. Not in the spirit of vain 
boasting, either, would we name him, for that would 
be dishonoring to his spotless fame; nor yet in the 
language of empty laudation, for that would be an offer- 
ing unworthy of so pure a shrine. His best eulogium 
is the simple record of his deeds, and an honest por- 
traiture of his character. His fame is interwoven with 
the history of his country during the most interesting 
period of its existence, and his name will be a tower of 
strength to the nation, and form a halo circling around 
its banner, while it can point proudly to that glorious 
motto of " E Pluribus TJnum." 

The name of George Washington is familiar to 
every man, woman, and child in America, and his 



GEOKGE WASHINGTON. 197 

wonderful history, the glorious deeds which rendered 
his life illustrious and his name immortal, the virtues 
which adorned his character, and still cluster around 
his memory — all are written as with a pen of iron upon 
the hearts of the American people. At the bare men- 
tion of his name the thoughts immediately turn to the 
shores of the Potomac as to a starting point ; and then, 
tracing along the path of his life, which glows with an 
effulgence as beautiful as it is glorious, it calls up in 
memory the young and athletic surveyor amid the 
mountains and the forests of the frontiers; Duquesne 
and Fort Necessity ; the bivouac in the wilderness ; the 
sudden onset, the wild foray, and the Indian battle ; the 
ambush, the war-shout of the savage ; the terrible con- 
flict with Braddock, and the bloody defeat — all are 
unrolled in rapid succession, like the unfoldings of a 
panorama. And then come Trenton, and Brandywine, 
and Grermantown, and Princeton, and Monmouth, and 
Yorktown, to add to the aggregate of his glorious 
achievements. With these are associated the successful 
strategy, the fierce attack, the heroic struggle against 
fearful odds, when a nation's freedom and a nation's 
existence were the prizes at stake ; the courage which 
shrank from no danger ; the wisdom and prudence and 
foresight which no skill could baffle ; the virtues which 
no temptation could corrupt; and the power of that 
mysterious influence which enthroned him forever in 
the affections of his countrymen, and won the homage 
of civilized man everywhere — these are some of the 
bright images which come up in memory at the bare 
mention of his glorious name. America, aye, the world, 
knows his history, and needs none to repeat it. Even 



198 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

his face, and every feature of his noble countenance, 
however roughly drawn, though it be but in outline, 13 
instantly recognized by all, from the Atlantic to the 
Pacific ! 

If the reader should ever visit old Faneuil Hall, in 
Boston, the " Cradle of Liberty/' he will see suspended 
against the walls numerous portraits of distinguished 
men of the Eevolution, executed from life by the best 
artists of that day* There is one with the name of 
John Hancock underneath it; another with that of 
John Adams; another with Thomas Jefferson; another 
with Benjamin Franklin; another with General Knox, 
and so on, each giving the name of the illustrious 
original. But in the center of that galaxy of patriots 
there is one portrait, and only one, on which there is 
no name written ; and yet, quicker than the eye can 
read the inscription on the others, that nameless one 
is recognized by every visitor as the portrait of Wash- 
ington! The artist seems to have entertained the 
opinion that no name was necessary to indicate the 
original, when the lineaments of Washington's face 
and form were traced upon the canvas; and he judged 
rightly, for they are daguerreotyped distinctly upon 
the memory of every American, and will be until good- 
ness shall cease to be appreciated or greatness admired. 
It were useless, therefore, to attempt to narrate any 
thing concerning Washington that is not already well 
known to every one ; and yet we can not properly explain 
some facts to the masonic reader without recounting 
a portion of his early history at least. 

George Washington was descended from an illus- 
trious ancestry — not illustrious merely by titles of 



GEORGE WASHINGTON. 199 

nobility, though such were not wanting; but by the 
higher distinctions of honor, of virtue, and of patriot- 
ism. The eldest child of his father by a second mar- 
riage, he was orphaned at the early age of eleven, and 
grew up to manhood under the eye and government of 
his mother, a woman whose superior, in qualifications for 
the task imposed upon her by Providence, is probably 
not to be found in either ancient or modern history. 
Long before he reached his majority, he boldly assumed 
and faithfully discharged the duties of mature life. 
The masonic reader will please remember this fact, for 
it will be necessary to refer to it again when we come 
to treat of his masonic connections, and to explain some 
facts relative to his early initiation. 

Washington retired from school at sixteen years of 
age, having diligently studied geometry, and acquired 
an accurate knowledge of surveying, both in theory 
and practice. Soon after he had left school, he was 
appointed by Lord Fairfax, (an English nobleman, whose 
brother had settled in Virginia, and whose niece the 
elder brother of Washington had married,) to survey 
his large estates of wild land lying in the wilderness 
and among the mountains of the then frontiers of that 
province. Confident of his capacity to accomplish a task 
which would have tested the ability of mature years 
and ample experience, and relying entirely upon his 
own resources, the boy-man of sixteen, with his maps, 
his instruments, and a few assistants, started for the 
wilderness. For a year he made his home in the forest, 
living upon the coarse fare which the cabins of the set- 
tlers or the rifles of his hunters could furnish, and sleep- 
ing at night under a tent or a tree, surrounded by liis 



:200 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

forest companions. From this expedition lie returned 
a little before lie was seventeen, as one aptly remarked, 
" with his energies of body and mind consolidated into 
a full-grown man," and immediately received a commis- 
sion from his native State as a public surveyor, a trust 
never confided, at that time, to any but experienced men. 

Soon after this, difficulties with the Indians along 
the border settlements compelled the colony of Vir- 
ginia to organize its military forces, and, at the age of 
nineteen, Washington was commissioned as major in 
the provincial army. For two years the young hero 
ranged along the frontiers endeavoring to protect the 
defenseless but venturesome pioneer settlers from the 
firebrand and the tomahawk of the bloody and relent- 
less savages. And so well did he discharge the arduous 
duties which had been confided to him, that he not 
only received the blessings of the suffering inhabitants 
of the frontiers, but the hearty commendations of those 
in authority from whom he had received his trust. 

The disturbances with the Indians were finally quiet- 
ed, and Washington returned to the retirement of his 
home and the company of a mother whom he loved. 
But his repose was fated to be of short duration. It 
would seem that he was born for the service of his 
country; and, however great the sacrifice or the peril, 
he never faltered when duty called and honor pointed 
the way. 

By virtue of having planted colonies on the Atlantic 
coast, England claimed ownership of the whole country 
westward to the Pacific Ocean — however far off that 
might be. Some wandering French Jesuits from Can- 
ada had found their way up and down the Mississippi 



GEORGE WASHINGTON. 201 

and some of its tributaries, in their efforts to make 
good Catholics out of ignorant and blood-thirsty sav- 
ages. The grand forests and beautiful prairies of the 
great valley had never been traversed before by the 
foot of civilized man, and glowing accounts reached 
France of discoveries her missionaries had made in the 
interior of this continent. Forthwith the French Gov- 
ernment assumed the ownership of all those vast re- 
gions by right of discovery; while England, be it 
remembered, claimed the same by right of her previous 
settlements along the coast. Neither could be satisfied 
with less than a continent, and both were regardless 
of the prior ownership of the Indians by right of pos- 
session. These adverse claims soon brought on a con- 
test for jurisdiction. France established military posts 
on the Ohio, and at points northwardly to the lake, 
and succeeded in securing the friendship of the In- 
dians. England declared these acts to be trespasses 
upon her territory, and determined at once to give the 
intruder " notice to quit," and, in case of his refusal, 
to eject him by means more potent than a sheriff with 
his writ and posse comitatus. 

But how should the Governor of Virginia give this 
notice ? or who should be the bearer of it to the French 
officer commanding on the Ohio? Notice must be 
given, for so the authorities in England had com- 
manded ; but where was the messenger to be found ? 
The distance was over five hundred miles, mostly 
through an unbroken wilderness, and over mountains 
then considered almost impassable — to say nothing of 
the danger from lurking Indians, the allies of France, 
and the deadly foes of the colonists. Inquiry was made, 



202 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

but no one was to be found willing to risk the peril of 
the journey. There was silence, then, among the chiv- 
alry of the Old Dominion. At length young Washing- 
ton presented himself and said, like the Prophet of old, 
"Here am I; send me!" There stood — there spoke, 
the future chieftain, the man ready for any necessary 
responsibility, and who was yet to become the con- 
queror of England and the Father of his Country. The 
Governor, a burly, strong-headed old Scotchman, was 
delighted with the spirit of the young man, and gladly 
accepted the offer of his services, remarking, at the 
same time, in his blunt, old-fashioned way, " Truly you 
are a brave lad, and if you play your cards well, you 
shall have no cause to repent your bargain." 

Washington was then but a little over twenty years 
of age ; yet he was intrusted with a commission that 
involved the peace of the two greatest nations of the 
world, and ultimately the fate of empires. 

It was while the first blast of winter was howling 
through the gorges of the Alleghanies that Washington 
started on his mission of peace — -or war — as France 
might choose. With but eight companions, two of 
whom were Indians, he made his way over the mount- 
ains, crossing the streams on log rafts, tenting on the 
snow, braving perils and suffering privations that would 
have crushed almost any other man but Washington. 
About one hundred and twenty miles below where Pitts- 
burg now stands, the young messenger found a French 
post and the French commander. Alone with his few 
attendants, nearly six hundred miles from friends or 
support, surrounded by tribes of savages, mostly in the 
pay and under the influence of France, Washington 



GEORGE WASHINGTON. 203 

presented his credentials, and, in the name of his name- 
sake on the throne of England, sternly demanded that 
the French should quit the country. The reply which 
he received from the polite Frenchman was, that he 
should remain where he was until his own sovereign 
might order him away ! 

With this reply "Washington made his way back to 
Virginia, and reached home after an absence of four 
months. It was at once resolved to send a military 
force to drive the French from the Ohio. Four hun- 
dred troops were raised, and Washington was appointed 
to their command as colonel. At the head of his little 
army he again started to cross the mountains, and 
when on the western slope he learned that the enemy 
had taken possession of the point of land at the junc- 
tion of the Alleghany and Monongahela Rivers, in great 
force, and was engaged in constructing Fort Duquesne. 
A small party which he had sent forward to take pos- 
session of that very position was surrounded by an 
overwhelming force of French and Indians, when they 
capitulated, and were permitted to retire. This start- 
ling news reached Washington while he was yet strug- 
gling, with the main portion of his army, through the 
western spurs of the Alleghanies, and he was compelled 
at once to retreat for safety. 

A few days afterward news was brought to our 
young hero that detachments of French and Indians 
were on his track, and crowding down upon him from 
different points. It was a starless and stormy night 
when the young commander, but little past his majority, 
was informed of his imminent peril. The unbroken 
wilderness, rugged and rocky, was around him; the 



204 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

storm-king was abroad on his wildest revels; every 
living thing that could find shelter had found it. Man 
alone was abroad, and he in the grim attitude of war, 
on errands of slaughter and destruction. 

Washington was a tactician, even at that early period 
of his life, and wisely concluded it were better to fall 
on his enemy at once, than to remain in camp and wait 
for his attack. With this determination he selected 
forty men, and, guided by some friendly Indians, he 
groped his way through the blackness of that stormy 
night, stumbling over logs and wading the swollen 
streams, until, at the dawn of day, he reached the 
bivouac of his foe. He divided his little party into 
two divisions, and crept cautiously up to within mus- 
ket-range, giving his troops imperative orders not to 
pull a trigger until he gave the word. There was a 
pause. The great heart of the young hero throbbed with 
unutterable emotions as he thought of his position, his 
isolation, and responsibility; his imminent danger, and 
the fearful, inconceivable consequences dependent upon 
his single word. A hostile collision in that remote por- 
tion of America would begin a war that might kindle 
all Europe into a flame that would certainly change the 
boundaries of empires, and, perhaps, overthrow existing 
dynasties. No one could guess what or where the end 
would be ; but it was certain that his single word would 
cause the monarchs of the old world to tremble on their 
thrones ! 

With this weight of responsibility resting upon him, 
the young commander, towering up to his full hight of 
majestic manhood, in a calm, clear ^roice, gave the ex- 
pectant word, and instantly the forest resounded with 



GEORGE WASHINGTON. 205 

the rattle of musketry. The echo of that discharge 
was heard in every court of Europe, and the conse- 
quences will only be fully known when the history of 
nations and of governments shall be brought to a close ! 

We shall sketch the general history of Washington 
no further. Enough has been written to indicate the 
character of the man, and afford an earnest of his 
future achievements. We will now go back a little, 
and note some facts preliminary to Washington's in- 
duction into the Order of Freemasons. His elder 
brother, Lawrence, was fourteen years his senior in 
age. He was a man of great wealth, and of much in- 
fluence in the colony; and when the war spirit was 
aroused in consequence of the encroachments of the 
French, Lawrence obtained for his younger brother, 
then but nineteen years of age, the command of one of 
the military districts into which the colony was divided, 
with "the pay of one hundred and fifty pounds a year." 
The young major immediately set about the study of 
military science, in which he was assisted by his 
brother Lawrence, and one or two veterans who had 
served against the Spaniards in the West Indies. 

While the young soldier was engaged in his military 
studies, the health of his elder brother, between whom 
and himself a very warm fraternal feeling existed, 
began to fail. A trip to the West Indies, in which he 
was accompanied by his brother George, proved in- 
effectual to restore his health. In the following sum- 
mer, his symptoms growing worse, he returned home, 
where he died on the 26th of July, 1752. By his will 
he bequeathed to George a large estate, and appointed 
him one of his executors. 



206 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

On the 4th day of November, 1752, Washington was 
made a Freemason, in Fredericksburg Lodge, No. 4, at 
Fredericksburg, Virginia. Carefully analyzing the ele- 
ments of masonic knowledge thus revealed to him, he 
patiently proceeded in his studies, and, on the 3d of 
March, 1753, he was passed to the degree of Fellow 
Craft. Still more delighted with the revealments of a 
science new and strange to him, but which won his re- 
gard by its beautiful symbolisms and elevated morality, 
he toiled on in his new vocation until the 4th of Au- 
gust, 1753, when he was raised to the sublime degree 
of Master Mason; thus occupying nine months in his 
mystic journey from the vestibule to the holy of 
holies of Masonry. This was less than three months 
previous to his departure on that perilous mission 
already described, to warn the French from the 
Ohio. 

Fredericksburg Lodge, No. 4, was originally organ- 
ized under a dispensation issued by the Grand Lodge 
of Massachusetts. How long it worked under this dis- 
pensation is now unknown, but, in 1758, it received a 
charter from the Grand Lodge of Scotland. Whether 
it had previously received a charter from the Grand 
Lodge of Massachusetts we are unable to say, or why 
it obtained one from the Grand Lodge of Scotland. 
Its present charter was granted by the Grand Lodge 
of Virginia, in 1787. 

At our special request a friend has carefully exam- 
ined the ancient records of the Lodge, and copied the 
following entries: 

11 November 4, 5752. — Eeceived of Mr. George 
Washington for his entrance,. £2, 3." 



GEORGE WASHINGTON. 207 

"March 3, 5753. — George "Washington passed Fel- 
low Craft." 

"August 4, 5753. — George Washington raised Mas- 
ter Mason." 

The officers of the Lodge at the time of Washing- 
ton's initiation were: E. W. Daniel Campbell, Master; 
John Neilson, Senior Warden; and Dr. Bobert Hal- 
kerson, Junior Warden. The Bible used on that occa- 
sion is still preserved in the Lodge, or was, previous to 
the rebellion. It is a small quarto, beautifully printed, 
and bears on its title-page the imprint — " 1688 : 
printed at Cambridge, by John Field, Printer to the 
University." 

On the records of the Lodge are found quite a list 
of honored names. There are Brigadier-Generals 
Hugh Mercer, (who fell while fighting under the eye 
of Washington at Princeton,) George Weeden, and 
William Woodford; of Colonel John Jaringan and 
Major Gustavus Brown Wallace, all officers in the war 
of the Kevolution. There, too, are the names of Gen- 
eral Edward Stevens, Governor Spottswood, Colonel 
McWilliams, and Chief-Justice Marshall. The Lodge 
might well be proud of such a list of names, especially 
when that of George Washington is added as its 
crowning glory. 

On the walls of the Lodge-room at Fredericksburg 
were formerly hanging a number of "funeral hatch- 
ments," which bore the names of deceased members, 
and inscriptions in honor of them. On one of these 
is the following: 



208 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

IN MEMORY OP 

BROTHER GEORGE WASHINGTON, 

Born in the county of Westmoreland, State of Virginia, Feb. 11, 0. S., 
A. L. 5732, A. D. 1732. 

Died at Mount Vernon, Dec. 14, N. S., A. L. 5799, A. D. 1799. 



A life now glorious to his country led ! 
Belov'd while living as rever'd now dead; 
May his kxample virtuous deeds inspire — 
Let future ages hear it and admire. 

It will be seen by the dates above given that Wash- 
ington became a Mason before he was twenty-one years 
of age, and the question has been repeatedly asked, how 
this could have been, seeing that masonic law requires 
the candidate to have reached the age of twenty-one 
years ? The question is readily answered. At the pe- 
riod to which we refer, the Masonic Constitution, as 
revised by Anderson in 1722, and approved by the 
Grand Lodge of England, was the supreme law with the 
Craft in this country, as it is still in England, in all 
its essential requirements, and ought to be everywhere. 
That law does not designate the precise age which an 
applicant must attain before he can be admitted among 
us. It simply required him to be of " mature and dis- 
creet age" and who will affirm that Washington was 
not of " mature and discreet age" when he had passed 
his twentieth year? At sixteen he had completed his 
mathematical education, and had executed important 
trusts in the employ of Lord Fairfax ; at seventeen he 
was commissioned as a public surveyor, an office at 
that time of high responsibility ; at nineteen he was in 
command of one of the military districts of the colony 



GEORGE WASHINGTON. 209 

as adjutant-general, with the rank of major; and he 
was just on the eve of his departure, by authority of 
the Governor, to communicate with the French com- 
mander on the Ohio on matters of high national im- 
portance, when he was admitted to our mystic brother- 
hood. 

We have already seen that his brother Lawrence 
died in the summer of 1752, leaving an ample fortune ; 
and that, by his will, George Washington was appointed 
one of his executors. This fact, together with that 
above referred to, that he was at the same time hold- 
ing a commission as major in the provincial troops 
raised by Virginia, show that he was not only recog- 
nized as a man of "mature and discreet age" by his 
friends, but also by the public authorities. He was 
not only mature in his mental perceptions, but his 
judgment and prudence were superior to many at the 
age of thirty. He was a man in all the elements of a 
fully developed manhood, and was already the morning 
star of that glorious era which gave freedom to a con- 
tinent, and secured rational liberty to uncounted mil- 
lions of our race. , 

It is not designed to be particular in noting the 
entire history of Washington's masonic life. There is 
usually but little written of such facts when they oc- 
cur; and, at this distance of time, when the great man 
himself has been in the grave for nearly two-thirds of 
a century, and all his cotemporaries have passed to 
"the shadowy land," it were useless to attempt minute- 
ness of detail. The records of Fredericksburg Lodge, 
made at the time, are still extant, as if preserved on 

purpose to bear witness to the fact of Washington's 
18 



210 MASONIC BIOGEAPHY. 

initiation ; but, like all such records, they simply state 
the fact in as few words as possible : that on such a 
date George Washington was initiated — on such a date 
passed to the degree of Fellow Craft — on such a date 
raised to the degree of Master Mason. The recorded 
evidence is still there, and sufficient to silence all 
doubts — if any honest ones exist — as to the fact of his 
having been a Mason; beyond that, little is ever writ- 
ten or preserved in the archives of Lodges. 

Washington remained for many years a member of 
the Lodge with which he first affiliated. He did not 
hesitate, on every proper occasion, to avow his connec- 
tion with the Order, and express his unqualified ap- 
proval of its objects, its principles, and its labors. 
Lodges were not then numerous as now; the country 
was new, the population sparse, and these " sacred re- 
treats of friendship and virtue " were *■ few and far 
between." Besides, almost the whole life of Washing- 
ton, subsequent to his initiation, was spent in the pub- 
lic service; much of the time he was absent from his 
home, with great cares and weighty responsibilities 
pressing upon him. He had learned, what every other 
Craftsman learns, that Masonry must not be permitted 
to "interfere with our necessary vocations, for these 
are on no account to be neglected;" and the claims of 
country, especially, are superior to those of Masonry. 
The public duties of the chieftain, in after years, sadly 
interfered with his social privileges, yet he embraced 
every favorable opportunity to mingle with his brethren 
in their private meetings, and aid them in the perform- 
ance of their mystic labors. 

Anti-masonic writers have unblushingly denied that 



GEORGE WASHINGTON. 211 

Washington was a Mason at all, and they have done 
this in the very face of documentary evidence as strong 
and conclusive as that which proves him to have been 
the commander-in-chief of the American army ! The 
biographers of this illustrious man have seemed to 
pander to this morbid sensitiveness of the anti-masonic 
public by carefully abstaining from all reference to his 
masonic connections. Not one, so far as I have discov- 
ered, of all those who have written of Washington, has 
done him justice in this behalf. Whether this omission 
was intentional or not, it is difficult to say; but in so 
far it is a wrong to the memory of the Father of his 
Country. Why is this studied silence ? Washington 
never repudiated his masonic affiliation, but, on the 
contrary, seems to have taken pleasure in avowing it 
on every suitable occasion, and mingled freely with 
the Craft, as one of them, both in public and in pri- 
vate. The record of the Lodge in which he was ini- 
tiated, made at the time it occurred, and his autograph 
letters, still preserved, attest his membership in, and 
his devotion to the best interests of the Order; and 
its impressive rites and solemn monitions, doubtless, 
made a lasting impression upon his youthful mind, and 
aided much in molding his character into its grand 
and beautiful proportions. Shall his biographers be 
allowed to omit stating that which the great man him- 
self deemed worthy of his attention and regard ? Biog- 
raphy, to be valuable, should be a full and accurate 
portraiture of the original ; no particular feature should 
be concealed, simply because it is disagreeable to the 
artist. Truthfulness in these things is what is needed ; 
and he that purposely conceals a part of the truth, 



212 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

when writing biography, injures his character for ve- 
racity, and taints the authority of his work as much as 
though he had knowingly affirmed what he knew to 
be false. But is it right or honorable for a writer pro- 
fessing to give a full and impartial history of a distin- 
guished character, while he is careful to record every 
other minute fact in connection with him, to omit so 
important an item as that above referred to? 

A single incident, well authenticated — indeed, a part 
of the public history of those times — puts it beyond dis- 
pute, if there were any room left for dispute on the sub- 
ject, that Washington was not only a Mason, but that 
even while the great cares and anxieties of his position 
were pressing upon him, he found time to mingle with the 
Craft, and thus attest his devotion to its sublime objects. 

Subsequently to the battle of Monmouth, General 
Washington was called to Philadelphia to consult with 
a committee of Congress on matters of public import- 
ance, where he was sojourning, near the close of 1778. 
That city had suffered much in its business while in 
the possession of the British troops. The consequence 
was, great distress among the poor, especially as the 
winter was just setting in. 

To aid in relieving the unfortunate, the Grand Lodge 
of Pennsylvania proposed to have a charity sermon 
preached before that body on the 28th of December in 
that year, (the 27th being Sunday,) by Bro. the Eev. 
William Smith, D. D., then Provost of the college in 
Philadelphia. It was, accordingly, preached in Christ 
Church,, and was afterward published, a copy of which 
is in our possession, together with the programme of 
the procession and proceedings on that occasion, printed 



GEOEGE WASHINGTON. 213 

at the time. General Washington toalked in the pro- 
cession, and attended services at the church, dressed in 
masonic costume, a distinct place having been assigned 
him on the programme ; and the minister, in his sermon, 
alluded to his presence in the following appropriate and 
respectful language. He had been referring to the 
patriotism of distinguished men in other lands and in 
other times, and adds : 

"Such, to name no more, was the character of a 
Cincinnatus in ancient times : rising ' awful from the 
plow' to save his country; and, his country saved, 
returning to the plow again with increased dignity 
and luster. Such, too, if we divine aright, will future 

ages pronounce to have been the character of a 

but you all anticipate me in a name which delicacy 
forbids me on this occasion to mention. Honored with 
his presence as a brother, you will seek to derive virtue 
from his example; and never let it be said that any 
principles you profess can render you deaf to the calls 
of your country, but, on the contrary, have animated 
you with intrepidity in the hour of danger, and hu- 
manity in the moments of triumph." 

The sermon, which was soon after published, was, by 
order of the Grand Lodge, dedicated to General Wash- 
ington in the following language : 

"To His Excellency George Washington, Esq., Gen- 
eral and Commander-in-Chief of the Armies of the 
United States of North America; the friend of his 
country and mankind — ambitious of no higher title, if 
higher were possible — the following sermon, honored 
with his presence when delivered, is dedicated, in testi- 
mony of the sincerest brotherly affection and esteem of 



214 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

his merit. By order of the brethren. John Coates ; 
Grand Secretary, pro tern" 

The original records of the American Union Lodge, 
which was attached to the " Connecticut Line " during 
most of the Bevolution, are still extant, and preserved 
with great care at New Haven. We have carefully 
examined these valuable documents, and copy the fol- 
lowing entries concerning Washington. The troops 
were at " Nelson's Point," on the Hudson, on the 24th 
of June, 1779, and the Lodge there celebrated the fes- 
tival of St. John. The record states : 

11 After the usual ceremonies, the Lodge retired to a 
bower in front of the house, where, being joined by his 
Excellency General Washington, and family, an address 
was delivered to the brethren, etc., by Eev. Dr. Hitch- 
cock/' etc. Again, after the addresses, songs, toasts, 
etc., " His Excellency Bro. Washington, having re- 
turned to the barge, attended by the Wardens and Sec- 
retary of the Lodge, amidst a crowd of brethren, the 
music playing ■ God Save America/ and embarked, his 
departure was announced by three cheers from the 
shore, answered by three from the barge, the music 
beating the ' Grenadier's March.'" 

On the 27th of December, 1779, the army was in 
winter-quarters at Morristown, New Jersey, and the 
members of the American Union Lodge celebrated the 
day as usual. In the minutes of that meeting, after 
naming the officers and members present, it is added: 
li Visitors present — Bros. Washington, Gibbs, Kinney," 
etc. We make these extracts, not to furnish additional 
evidence that Washington was a Freemason, for that 
would be superfluous; but to show that, even in the 



GEOKGE WASHINGTON. 215 

dark days of the war, with all his public cares and 
anxieties, his regard for Masonry prompted him to visit 
the Lodges and mingle with the Craft whenever it was 
convenient for him to do so. 

An incident, which we have seen in print years ago, 
will indicate the sentiments which Washington enter- 
tained of Masonry while in the strength and maturity 
of his days. During the war with England, the chance 
of battle threw into the possession of the Americans a 
party of British soldiers, with their camp equipage and 
baggage, among which was a chest containing the jew- 
els and furniture of a Lodge of Freemasons attached to 
the English army. As soon as this was known to the 
commander-in-chief, he promptly returned it to the 
enemy under a flag of truce, accompanied with a po- 
lite note, stating that such articles were not legitimate 
trophies of war ! 

After the illustrious chief had retired from the toils 
of war, and was quietly enjoying the sweets of domes- 
tic life at Mount Vernon, it was determined, by a few 
distinguished Masons, to organize a new Lodge in 
the neighboring town of Alexandria. Application was 
made to the then Grand Master of Masons in Virginia, 
Edmund Eandolph, Esq., at that time the Governor of 
the State. He, accordingly, issued his warrant for 
that purpose, bearing date the 28th of April, 1788, 
which is still carefully preserved in the archives of the 
Lodge, empowering certain persons therein named to 
assemble and work as a legal Lodge of Freemasons, 
under the name of Alexandria Lodge, No. 22. The 
first name mentioned in that warrant is "our illustri- 
ous and well-beloved brother, George Washington, late 



216 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

general and commander-in-chief of the forces of the 
United States of America." No one need be told that 
"Washington's name could not have been in the warrant 
if he had not been a Mason; and every one familiar 
with such documents and masonic usage will know that, 
by placing his name first in the list, it was intended to 
designate him as the Master of the new Lodge. 

For the satisfaction of all, we subjoin a portion of the 
warrant of Lodge No. 22. It is as follows : 

"I, Edmund Randolph, Governor of the State, and 
Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Virginia, do 
hereby constitute and appoint our illustrious and well- 
beloved brother, George "Washington, late general and 
commander-in-chief of the forces of the United States, 

and our worthy brothers, McCrea, William Hunter, 

Jr., and John Allison, Esq., together with all such other 
brethren as may be admitted to associate with them, to 
be a just, true, and regular Lodge of Freemasons, by 
the name, title, and designation of the Alexandria 
Lodge, No. 22," etc. 

Washington remained a member of Alexandria 
Lodge, No. 22, until his great Master called him to a 
higher and more glorious affiliation in the heavenly 
Temple. After his death, in 1805, by permission of 
the Grand Lodge of Virginia, the name of the Lodge 
was changed to " Washington Alexandria Lodge," in 
memory of the illustrious man who was its first Master, 
and which name it still bears, while it preserves in its 
archives several mementoes of the noble dead. 

The correspondence of Washington with various 
masonic bodies furnishes additional evidence, if any 
were needed, of his affiliation with the Order, and in- 



GEORGE WASHINGTON. 217 

dicates his opinion of its objects and importance, as well 
as the deep interest he felt in its prosperity. The fol- 
lowing letters have been carefully collected and com- 
pared, and their authenticity can not be questioned. 
They are here arranged in the order of their dates. 
The original of the following is still preserved in the 
Lodge-room, but the occasion which elicited it does 
not appear: 

Mount Vernon, December 28, 1783. 
Gentlemen : With a pleasing sensibility I received your favor of 
the 26th, and beg leave to offer you my sincere thanks for the 
favorable sentiments with which it abounds. I shall always feel 
pleasure when it may be in my power to render any service to 
Lodge No. 39, and in every act of brotherly kindness to the mem- 
bers of it, being, with great truth, 

Your affectionate brother and obedient servant, 

George Washington. 
Robert Adams, Esq., Master, and Wardens and Treasurer of Lodge 
No. 39. 



i 



Mount Vernon, June 19, 1789. 
Bear Sir: With pleasure I received the invitation of the Master 
and members of Lodge No. 39, to dine with them on the approach- 
ing anniversary of St. John the Baptist. If nothing unforeseen at 
present interferes, I will have the honor of doing it. For the polite 
and flattering terms in which you have expressed their wishes, you 
will please except my thanks. 

With esteem and regard, I am, dear sir, 

Your most obedient servant, 

George Washington. 

To an address of welcome and congratulation from 
King David's Lodge, Newport, Ehode Island, while on 
a visit to that State, the President returned the follow- 
ing answer : 
19 



218 MASONIC BIOGKAPHY. 

Newport, August 17, 1790. 
To the Master, Wardens, and Brethren of King David s Lodge, New- 
port, Rhode Island: 

Gentlemen — I receive the welcome which you give me to Khode 
Island, and with pleasure; and I acknowledge my obligation for 
the flattering expressions of regard contained in your address, with 
grateful sincerity. Being persuaded thai a just application of the 
2)rinciples on which the Masonic Fraternity is founded must be pro- 
motive of private virtue and public prosperity, I shall always be 
happy to advance the interests of the Society, and to be considered by 
them as a deserving brother. My best wishes, gentlemen, are offered 
for your individual happiness. 

George "Washington 

In the following spring, during the recess of Con- 
gress, Washington made a visit to the South, and, 
while at Charleston, received an address from the 
Grand Lodge of Ancient York Masons of Charleston, 
South Carolina, to which he returned the following 
answer : 

To the Grand Lodge of South Carolina, Ancient York Masons: 

Gentlemen — I am much obliged by the respect which you are so 
good as to declare for my public and private character. I recognize 
with pleasure my relation to the brethren of your Society, and I 
accept, with gratitude, your congratulations on my arrival in South 
Carolina. 

Your sentiments on the establishment and exercise of our equal 
government are worthy of our association, whose principles lead to 
purity of morals, and are beneficial of action. 

The fabric of our freedom is placed on the enduring basis of pub- 
lic virtue, and will, I fondly hope, long continue to protect the pros- 
perity of the architects who raised it. I shall be happy, on every 
occasion, to evince my regard for the Fraternity. .For your pros- 
perity, individually, I offer my best wishes. 

George Washington. 

[The above was written early in May, 1791.] 



GEORGE WASHINGTON. 219 

Near the close of 1792, the Grand Lodge of Massa- 
chusetts published an edition of their Constitutions, a 
copy of which was sent to Washington, with the fol- 
lowing : 

ADDRESS 

Of the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons for the Common- 
wealth of Massachusetts, to the Honored and Illustrious Brother^ 
George Washington. 

Sir — While the historian is describing the career of your glory, 
and the inhabitants of an extensive empire are made happy in your 
unexampled exertions — while some celebrate the Hero, so distin- 
guished in liberating United America, and others the Patriot who 
presides over her councils — a band of brothers, having always 
joined the acclamations of their countrymen, now testify their re- 
spect for those milder virtues which have ever graced the man. 

Taught by the precepts of bur Society that all its members stand 
upon a level, we venture to assume this station, and to approach you 
with that freedom which diminishes our diffidence without lessen- 
ing our respect. Desirous to enlarge the boundaries of social hap- 
piness, and to vindicate the ceremonies of their Institution, the 
Grand Lodge have published a " Book of Constitutions," and a 
copy for your acceptance accompanies this, which, by discovering 
the principles that actuate, will speak the eulogy of the Society; 
though they fervently wish the conduct of its members may prove 
its higher recommendation. 

Convinced of his attachment to its cause, and readiness to encour- 
age its benevolent designs, they have taken the liberty to dedicate 
this work to one, the qualities of whose heart and the actions of 
whose life have contributed to improve personal virtue, and ex- 
tend throughout the world the most endearing cordialities; and 
they humbly hope he will pardon this freedom, and accept the trib- 
ute of their esteem and homage. 

May the Supreme Architect of the Universe protect and bless 

you, give length of days and increase of felicity in this world, and 

then receive you to the harmonious and exalted Society in heaven. 

John Cutler, Grand Master, 

Joshua Bartlett, 

Mungo Mackay, 

Boston, December 29, A. L. 5792. 



TT ^) 

' V Grand Wardens. 



220 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

ANSWER. 

To the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the Common- 
wealth of Massachusetts : 

Gentlemen — Flattering as it may be to the human mind, and truly 
honorable as it is, to receive from our fellow-citizens testimonials 
of approbation for exertions to promote the public welfare, it is not 
less pleasing to know that the milder virtues of the heart are highly 
respected by a Society whose liberal principles are founded in the 
immutable laws of truth and justice. 

To enlarge the sphere of social happiness is worthy the benevo- 
lent design of the Masonic Institution, and it is most fervently to be 
wished that the conduct of every member of the Fraternity, as well 
as those publications that discover the principles which actuate them, 
may tend to convince mankind that the grand object of Masonry 
is to promote the happiness of the human race. 

While I beg your acceptance of my thanks for the " Book of 
Constitutions " which you have sent me, and for the honor you have 
done me in its dedication, permit me to assure you that I feel all 
those emotions of gratitude which your affectionate address and cor- 
dial wishes are calculated to inspire. And I sincerely pray, that 
the great Architect of the Universe may bless you here, and receive 
you hereafter in his immortal Temple. 

George Washington. 

"We copy also the following correspondence between 
the same parties, occurring at a later date : 

ADDRESS 

FROM THE GRAND LODGE OF MASSACHUSETTS TO GEO. WASHINGTON. 

The East, the West, and the South of the Grand Lodge of Ancient 
Free and Accepted Masons for the Commonwealth of Massachu- 
setts, to their most worthy Brother, George Washington : 

Wishing to be foremost in testimonials of respect and admira- 
tion of those virtues and services with which you have so long 
adorned and benefited our common country, and not the last nor 
least to regret the cessation of them in the public councils of 
the Union, your brethren of this Grand Lodge embrace the earliest 



GEORGE WASHINGTON. 221 

opportunity of greeting you in the calm retirement you have con- 
templated to yourself. 

Though as citizens they lose you in the active lahors of political 
life, they hope as Masons to find you in the pleasing sphere of fra- 
ternal engagements. From the cares of State, and the fatigues of 
public business, our Institution opens a recess, affording all the re- 
lief of tranquillity, the harmony of peace, and the refreshment of 
pleasure. Of these may you partake in all their purity and satis- 
faction. And we will assure ourselves that your attachment to this 
social plan will increase; and that, under the auspices of your en- 
couragement, assistance, and patronage, the Craft will attain its 
highest ornament, perfection, and praise. And it is our earnest 
prayer, that when your light shall be no more visible in this earthly 
Temple, you may be raised to the all-perfect Lodge above, be 
seated on the right hand of the Supreme Architect of the Universe, 
and receive the refreshment your labors have merited. 

In behalf of the Grand Lodge, we subscribe ourselves, with the 
highest esteem, your affectionate brethren, 

Paul Kevebe, Grand Master. 

Isaiah Thomas, Senior Grand Warden. 

Joseph Laughton, Junior Grand Warden. 

Daniel Oliver, Grand Secretary. 
Boston, March 21, 5797. 

The following' answer was received and communi- 
cated to the Grand Lodge, June 12 ; 5797: 

ANSWER. 

To the Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons in the 
Commonwealth of Massachusetts: 

Brothers — It was not until within these few days that I have been 
favored by the receipt of your affectionate address, dated Boston, the 
21st of March. 

For the favorable sentiments you have been pleased to express on 
the occasion of my past services, and for the regrets with which they 
are accompanied for the cessation of my public functions, I pray you 
to accept my best acknowledgments and gratitude. 

No pleasure, except that which results from a consciousness of 



222 MASONIC BIOGKAPHY. 

having, to the utmost of my abilities, discharged the trusts which 
have been reposed in me by my country, can equal the satisfaction I 
feel from the unequivocal proofs I continually receive of its appro- 
bation of my public conduct ; and I beg you to be assured that the 
evidence thereof, which is exhibited by the Grand Lodge of Massa- 
chusetts, is not among the least pleasing or grateful to my feelings. 

In that retirement which declining years induced me to seek, and 
which repose, to a mind long employed in public concerns, rendered 
necessary, my wishes that bounteous Providence will continue to 
bless and preserve our country in peace, and in the prosperity it has 
enjoyed, will be warm and sincere; and my attachment to the Society 
of which we are members will dispose me always to contribute my 
best endeavors to promote the honor and interest of the Craft. 

For the prayer you offer in my behalf, I entreat you to accept the 
thanks of a grateful heart, with assurances of fraternal regard, and 
my best wishes for the honor, happiness, and prosperity of all the 
members of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts. 

George Washington. 



ADDKESS 

Of the Grand Lodge of Ancient York Masons in Pennsylvania to 
George Washington, President of the United States of America. 

Sir and Brother: The Ancient York Masons of the jurisdiction 
of Pennsylvania, for the first time assembled in general communica- 
tion, to celebrate the feast of St. John the Evangelist, since your 
election to the Chair of Government of the United States, beg leave 
to approach you with congratulations from the East, and in the 
pride of internal affection to hail you as the great master-builder 
(under the Supreme Architect) by whose labors the Temple of Lib- 
erty hath been reared in the "West, exhibiting to the nations of the 
earth a model of beauty, order, and harmony, worthy of their imita- 
tion and praise. 

Your knowledge of the origin and objects of our Institution, its 
tendency to promote the social affections, and harmonize the heart, 
give us a sure pledge that this tribute of our veneration, this effusion 
of love, will not be ungrateful to you; nor will Heaven reject our 
prayers that you may be long continued to adorn the bright list of 



GEORGE WASHINGTON. 223 

master-workmen which our Fraternity produces in the terrestrial 
Lodge ; and that you may be late removed to that celestial Lodge 
where love and harmony reign transcendent and divine, where the 
Great Architect more immediately presides, and where cherubim 
and seraphim, waiting our congratulations from earth to heaven, 
shall hail you " Brother ! " 

By order and in behalf of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, in 
general communication, assembled in ample form. 
,_ Attest: J. B. Smith, Master. 

P. Le Barbier Du Pliessis, Grand Secretary. 

ANSWEK. 

To the Ancient York Masons of the jurisdiction of Pennsylvania . 

Gentlemen and Brethren — I received your kind congratulations 
with the purest sensations of fraternal affection, and from a heart 
deeply impressed with your generous wishes for my present and 
future happiness while you remain in this terrestrial mansion, and 
that we may hereafter meet as brethren in the Eternal Temple of the 
Supreme Architect. 

George "Washington. 

The letter which elicited the following response we 
have not seen in print, and the original is probably no 
longer accessible: 

Fellow-citizens and Brothers of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania : 
I have received your address with all the feelings of brotherly affec- 
tion, mingled with those sentiments for the Society which it was cal- 
culated to excite. To have been, in any degree, an instrument in the 
hands of Providence to promote order and union, and erect, upon a 
solid foundation, the true principles of government, is only to have 
shared with many others in a labor, the result of which, let us hope, 
will prove through all ages a sanctuary for brothers and a Lodge 
for the virtues. 

Permit me to reciprocate your prayers for my temporal happiness, 
and to supplicate that we may all meet hereafter in that Eternal 
Temple whose builder is the great Architect of the Universe. 

George Washington. 



224 MASONIC BIOGEAPHY. 

The administration of General Washington, as Presi- 
dent of the United States, closed on the 4th of March, 
1797, and immediately afterward he returned to his 
estate at Mount Vernon. He was now once more 
within reach of his own Lodge, No. 22, which he had 
aided to organize in 1788. The members immediately 
took measures to testify their respect for the venerable 
chieftain, and, on the 15th of May, 1797, presented to 
him the following congratulatory address. It was 
published at the time in the " Dartmouth Sentinel," 
printed at Hanover, New Hampshire, a copy of which 
is now on file in the public library at Xenia, Ohio, 
from which we have copied ; 

Mat 15, 1797. 

Most Respected Brother: The Ancient York Masons of Lodge 
No. 22 offer you their warmest congratulations on your retirement 
from your useful labors. Under the Supreme Architect of the 
Universe you have been the master-workman in erecting the Temple 
of Liberty in the West on the broad basis of equal rights. In your 
wise administration of the government of the United States for 
the space of eight years you have kept within the compass of our 
happy Constitution, and acted upon the square with foreign nations, 
and thereby preserved your country in peace, and promoted the 
prosperity and happiness of your fellow-citizens. And now that 
you have retired from the labors of public life to the refreshment of 
domestic tranquillity, they ardently pray that you may long enjoy 
all the happiness which the terrestrial Lodge can afford, and finally 
be removed to that celestial Lodge where love, peace, and harmony 
forever reign, and where cherubim and seraphim shall hail you 
« Brother 1 " 

By the unanimous desire of Lodge No. 22. 

James Gillies, Master, 

General George Washington. 

To this address Washington returned the following 
truly fraternal reply : 



GEORGE WASHINGTON. 225 

Brothers of the Ancient York Masons of Lodge No. 22 : 

While my heart acknowledges with brotherly love your affection- 
ate congratulations, on my retirement from the arduous toils of past 
years, my gratitude is no less excited by your kind wishes for my 
future happiness. 

If it has pleased the Supreme Architect of the Universe to make 
me an humble instrument to promote the welfare and happiness of 
my fellow-men, my exertions have been abundantly accompanied 
by the kind partiality with which they have been received. And 
the assurance you give me of your belief that I have acted upon the 
square in my public capacity, will be among my principal enjoy- 
ments in this terrestrial Lodge. 

George "Washington. 

In the year 1798 our country became involved in 
difficulties with France, which resulted in a quasi war 
with that nation. Washington was once more placed 
in command of the armies of the United States, and on 
his acceptance of that important trust, the Grand Lodge 
of Maryland addressed him a respectful letter, and pre- 
sented him a copy of the " Constitutions of Masonry," 
to which he returned the following reply. It is doubly 
valuable, as it is the last masonic letter he wrote, and 
closes his correspondence with the Craft. The original 
is preserved in the archives of the Grand Lodge of 
Maryland, or was recently, and is dated 

November 8, 1798. 
To the Right Worshipful Grand Lodge of Freemasons for the State 

of Maryland : 

Gentlemen and Brothers — Your obliging and affectionate letter, 
together with a copy of the " Constitutions of Masonry," has been put 
into my hands by your Grand Master, for which I pray you to ac- 
cept my best thanks. So far as I am acquainted with the principles 
and doctrines of Freemasonry, I conceive them to be founded in 
benevolence, and to be exercised only for the good of mankind. I can 
not, therefore, upon this ground, withdraw my approbation from it. 



226 MASONIC BIOGEAPHY. 

While I offer my grateful acknowledgments for your congratu- 
lations on my late appointment, and for the favorable sentiments 
you are pleased to express of my conduct, permit me to observe, 
that, at this important and critical moment, when high and repeated 
indignities have been offered to the government of our country, and 
when the property of our citizens is plundered without a prospect 
of redress, I conceive it to be the indispensable duty of every Ameri- 
can, let his station and circumstances in life be what they may, to 
come forward in support of the government of his choice, and to 
give all the aid in his power toward maintaining that independence 
which we have so dearly purchased ; and, under this impression, I 
did not hesitate to lay aside all personal considerations, and accept 
my appointment. 

I pray you to be assured that I receive with gratitude your kind 
wishes for my health and happiness, and reciprocate them with sin- 
cerity. I am, gentlemen and brothers, very respectfully, 
Your most obedient servant, 

George Washington. 

An extract from the records of Alexandria Lodge, 
No. 22, made at the time it bears date, may be a fit- 
ting close to the array of evidence we have collected 
of Washington's masonic affiliation. Those records, 
under date of December 16, 1799, contain the follow- 
ing entry : " Lodge of Emergency : Funeral Lodge called 
for the burial of General G-. Washington, first Master 
of this Lodge, No. 22." 

In view of the foregoing extracts from the records 
of the Lodge, how can any candid man deny that 
Washington was a Mason ? Would such an entry have 
been made on the records of the Lodge if he had not 
been a member ? The same record also asserts that he 
was the " first Master " of that Lodge ; the very rela- 
tion which we inferred he bore from the position his 
name occupied in the original warrant. If there were 
no other evidence extant on the subject, we should feel 



GEORGE WASHINGTON. 227 

bound to receive this extract from the records of the 
Lodge of which he was a member, made at the time, 
as conclusive on the question. And, in addition to the 
record itself, appears this corroborating testimony: 
the Lodge attended the funeral. In the appendix to 
the " Life of Washington," by Sparks, and copied from 
the very particular and interesting narrative of his 
last illness by Mr. Lear, an inmate of his household, 
and who appears to have held the position of private 
secretary, among those who composed the procession 
to the tomb is " Lodge No. 22 ; " and, speaking of the 
services at the tomb, the same writer adds: "The 
Masons performed their ceremonies, and the body was 
deposited in the vault." It would seem that no fur- 
ther evidence were necessary to satisfy even the most 
incredulous, and we rest here, confident that we have 
shown, beyond the possibility of a doubt, that the 
great and good "Washington was not only a Freemason, 
but that he remained true to the trust reposed in him 
as a Mason, and retained his confidence in and attach- 
ment to the Order to the latest period of his life, and 
that his body was finally "deposited in the vault" by 
his brethren of Alexandria Lodge, No. 22, of which he 
was a member at the time of his decease. 

Washington was not only a Mason by affiliation, but 
his life was a living exemplification of the tenets and 
teachings of the Order. In the language of our mo- 
nitions, he was " true to his government and just to 
his country." In the exercise of these virtues he 
stands as a model for every Mason, and for all suc- 
ceeding generations. He never swerved in his attach- 
ments to his country and her glorious cause. In the 



228 MASONIC BIOG-KAPHY. 

hour of peril, when defeat and disaster followed each 
other in quick succession, others shrank from the vor- 
tex which seemed to yawn beneath them, and one even 
turned his sword against the cause in which he had 
previously and nobly bled. But, the darker the clouds 
grew, and the fiercer the tempest beat, the more firmly 
did Washington stand up to meet them, and the 
brighter flashed that eagle-eye in defiance upon his 
country's foes. Discontent crept into the army, not 
with "Washington, but with Congress, and a proposition 
was made to invest their chieftain with supreme power, 
in order to save the country from anarchy. With the 
deepest concern and indignation he frowned these clam- 
ors into silence, and sternly required that the subject 
should never be mentioned again. He drew his sword 
for freedom, and for that alone; and from his noble 
heart there came an echo to the patriotic expression 
of Henry : 

" Give me liberty, or give me death ! " 

No, no, he would not have touched a scepter though 
every man on the continent had pressed him to accept 
it. He would have been false to his government, un- 
just to his country, and such traitorous intentions never 
found a home or lodgment in the heart of Washington ! 
Perhaps few men ever more fully exemplified the 
cardinal virtues of Masonry than did George Wash- 
ington. Take which of them you please, or take them 
all, and you will find in his blameless and matchless 
life a parallel. His temperance was of that rational 
and consistent character which proved that he held 
entire control over his passions. He was temperate in 



GEORGE WASHINGTON. 229 

all things, not alone in drinking. His food, his cloth- 
ing, his equipments, were none of them extravagant. 
His style of living was befitting his station in life, 
whether public or private ; and his pleasures and recre- 
ations were ail tempered by a deep and all-pervading 
sense of propriety. 

Fortitude was another of those virtues so strikingly 
exemplified in Washington. No danger, no defeat, no 
unequal odds, no adverse circumstances, could ever 
drive him from his purpose, or shake the iron will 
that held all within his influence to the great object 
for which they fought. His long and perilous marches 
through the wilderness, in his early campaigns ; his 
desperate fight with the French and their Indian allies 
beyond the mountains ; his position under the brave 
but imperious Braddock, at the terrible slaughter of his 
troops by the French and savages; these were enough 
to shake the fortitude of any one. But Washington 
ever maintained " that firm and steady purpose of mind " 
so necessary in such emergencies, and which enabled 
him to save what had else, but for him, been lost. 

Look at him at Valley Forge, during that terrible 
winter. Defeat and desertion had decimated his army. 
In the huts his men had scarce clothing sufficient to 
keep them from freezing. He had been driven from 
New York, across the Jerseys, defeated at Brandywine, 
repulsed at Germantown, and even Philadelphia was at 
last given up to the victorious enemy. With a few 
brave hearts that treasured the hope of freedom 

"As they clung to the promise of God," 

he was now with his tattered, half-starved, and half- 



230 MASONIC BIOGKAPHY. 

frozen army, lingering out the winter in miserable huts. 
! of all the dark hours of that seven years' war, that 
was the darkest. Not a single star of hope beamed out 
on that restless sea of conflict which foamed and dashed 
around him. But amid it all, and above it all, there 
towered still the majestic form of Washington. With 
a steady and unquailing eye he still faced his foes, as 
though sustained by an assurance of success given by 
inspiration itself. He waited his time ; and when the 
conquering Britons started from Philadelphia to reach 
their shipping at New York, he called his ragged 
troops around him, and sternly trod in the footsteps 
of the retreating foe. Overtaking them at Monmouth, 
he led his faithful heroes to the charge, and held them 
to the fierce encounter from morn till noon, and from 
noon till night, and conquered nobly at last. Such 
was the fortitude of Washington, and such its glori- 
ous results. 

I have not room to dwell on his prudence and 
justice as I would like, though each of these virtues 
shone conspicuously in his character. In no one ele- 
ment of greatness or excellence was he deficient; and 
in every aspect of his life he as truthfully exhibited 
the virtues of the Mason as he did those of the pa- 
triot and the hero. 

Let us look at a solitary example out of many that 
might be selected, and equally prominent, illustrating 
his fortitude and prudence. 

It was the evening of Christmas day, 1776. Wash- 
ington had been driven from New York, from the Hud- 
son, through New Jersey, across the Delaware, and was 
now in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, with a mere frag- 



GEORGE WASHINGTON. 231 

ment of His army, anxiously watching the movements 
of its giant foe. The summer s campaign was ended, 
and it had been a succession of disasters and defeats. 
The period of enlistment for most of his troops had 
expired, and they had returned to their homes. Driven 
from post to post, and his army reduced to a little 
over two thousand men, he had finally taken refuge 
on the western bank of the Delaware — -for he could find 
no other! 

He had sent to the Highlands for Lee to join him 
immediately, with whatever force he might have at 
command; but Lee indulged a petty jealousy of his 
great commander, and acted as though he wished his 
ruin. Instead of flying to his rescue with all haste, 
with a soldier's zeal and a hero's magnanimity, he 
tried how tardily he could proceed, and at last was 
justly punished by being captured by the enemy while 
ignobly idling away his time at a farm-house in New 
Jersey. Gates, the next in command, was Lee's equal 
in littleness of soul, and greatly his inferior as a sol- 
dier. He, too, would have rejoiced at the fall of 
Washington, for he aspired to fill his place! He, 
also, was written to and requested to co-operate with 
Washington in a movement to retrieve, if possible, the 
fortunes of the country ; but he pleaded ill health, and 
requested permission to visit Philadelphia! He was 
then desired to stop at Bristol on his way, and concert 
a plan of operations with the gallant Reed and Cad- 
wallader, who were stationed there; but he could not 
even do this for Washington and his country, and 
hurried on, unconcerned, to visit Congress, coolly criti- 
cising his chieftain's abilities as he passed along ! 



232 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

Just over there in Trenton was the veteran Colonel 
Kahl, with, his German regiments, in safe and comfort- 
able quarters, and with all the appliances of a well- 
appointed army. And all along the Delaware below, 
and in his rear, back to New York, were stationed 
strong detachments of the enemy, while Lord Howe 
only waited for the Delaware to be bridged with ice 
to enable him to cross it and take possession of Phila- 
delphia. To all human foresight that would have 
ended the contest, for "Washington had no refuge left 
but the mountains and the wilderness. But in that 
hour of peril he faltered not. He thought not of self, 
of honors, of emolument — even home was almost for- 
gotten. He thought only of the cause, and how he 
might save his country— for save it he would, or perish 
trying. 

It was a cold and stormy night — that Christmas 
night, 1776. The Hessians at Trenton would, perhaps, 
be holding a jubilee, as is still the custom of the Ger- 
mans on Christmas. "Washington marched his little 
army to McConkey's Ferry, nine miles above Trenton, 
determined to cross over and make one more dash at 
the invaders at every hazard. The river was full of 
ice, and the passage was perilous in the extreme; but 
no dangers could appall, no obstacles thwart the pur- 
poses of that hero-mason. It is true, a weight of 
sorrow pressed his great soul. Gates was on his way 
to Congress to intrigue for the chief command; and 
Lee was a prisoner in New York, as the fruits of his 
disobedience; while Putnam, the rough but brave old 
hero of two wars, on whom he could rely in any emerg- 
ency, was at Philadelphia, preparing for a death-strug- 



GEOKGE WASHINGTON. 233 

gle in Us defense. Thus it will be seen that the chief 
was deprived of his three principal officers at the very 
moment when their counsel was most needed. But 
still he was not alone. Knox, the ever-faithful, high- 
toned, generous Knox, with his artillery, was with 
him; and Greene, the Quaker-hero, in qualities and 
worth, as a soldier and a patriot, second only to his 
chief, was at his side; and Sullivan and Mercer, and 
Stephens and Stirling, and Stark and Knowlton, and 
others, each one a hero, and each a host in himself, 
were ready to share his perils, and, if need be, to die 
with their chieftain. And, above all, and more than 
all — with reverence I would write it — the Jehovah of 
Washington, whose power he recognized, in whom he 
trusted, and whose aid he invoked, was there to guide 
his footsteps on that wintry march, and shield him in 
the day of battle. 

At length the river was crossed, and the army was 
safe ashore. In stern and gloomy silence, in the midst 
of a driving snow-storm, with bare and bleeding feet, 
that little army — the last hope of freedom — followed, 
without question, their glorious leader. At daylight 
they reached the outskirts of Trenton. Not a moment 
must be lost; every thing was at stake; and freedom 
must perish or triumph within the hour. At the head 
of his own division, and alongside of Foster's artillery, 
Washington dashed into the town at one side, while 
the thunder of Sullivan's cannon announced that he 
was pressing in on the other. It is hardly necessary 
to state the result. The Hessians were surprised, their 
colonel wounded, and the post, with a thousand prison- 
ers, captured. It was the pivot on which turned the 
20 



234 MASONIC BIOGKAPHY. 

fortunes of that tedious war, and gave hope of ultimate 
success. ISTo wonder Washington exclaimed, as one of 
his officers rode up, "This is a glorious day for our 
country ! " It was the fruit of his prudence and forti- 
tude. 

In one of Nelson's great naval battles his watchword 
was, "An earldom or Westminster Abbey!" This is 
indicative of at least one distinction between the two 
men. The first thought in one was "our country;" 
with-^the other, "an earldom," if he succeeded or sur- 
vived, or "a tomb in Westminster Abbey," if he fell 
in the conflict. 

I have room to name but one more feature of Wash- 
ington's masonic character, and that is his unfaltering 
trust in God. He knew where to look and whom to 
ask for aid, when all other resources failed. He not 
only acknowledged the obligations, publicly and pri- 
vately, which religion imposed upon him, but he gave 
evidence of his faith by his works. Immediately after 
the Declaration of Independence he appointed a chap- 
lain to each regiment, to perform the public religious 
services; for, said he, in his order to the army, "The 
blessing and protection of Heaven are at all timds 
necessary, but especially so in times of public distress 
and danger." Shortly after this he learned, with deep 
regret, that many of the officers and men were in the 
habit of using profane language. He therefore issued 
another order, in which he alludes to it as a "foolish 
and wicked practice, and a vice hitherto little known 
in an American army; add to this," said he, "it is so 
mean and low, without any temptation, that every 
man of sense and character detests and despises it." 



GEORGE WASHINGTON. 235 

He had learned, in our mystic halls, to bend with pro- 
foundest reverence at the mention of that awful Name, 
and could not, where he commanded, permit it to be 
profaned. Would that every Mason were animated by 
such sentiments, and emulated such a glorious and 
illustrious example ! 

There is a solemn injunction impressed upon the 
memory of every brother, and one which no true 
Mason will ever forget or disregard — that, before en- 
gaging in any great or important undertaking, he 
should always invoke the blessing of God. Washington 
had received this injunction from a mother's lips, at a 
mother's knee; it had been repeated in the monitions 
of inspiration, and again enforced, most impressively, 
when passing the ordeal of our mystic rites. It was 
never forgotten, or unheeded, by that great man and 
consistent Mason. 

On one occasion, during that terrible winter at Val- 
ley Forge, a venerable Quaker was one day passing 
through a retired place, in a woods near the encamp- 
ment. Suddenly a sound like the voice of prayer 
reached his ears. His attention was arrested by so 
strange a sound in the vicinity of such a place, and 
curiosity prompted him to turn aside and ascertain 
what and who it was. Directed by the voice, he drew 
near to the spot, when he discovered the commander- 
in-chief, on his knees at the foot of a tree, who, with 

" Hands and heart and lifted eyes," 

was devoutly interceding with Heaven in behalf of the 
great cause for which he was struggling! The good 
old "Friend" was astonished; and meeting a brother 



236 masonic biography. 

of the peaceful " Society " soon after, he told him he 
now believed the American cause was a good one ; and 
would finally triumph. On being questioned as to the 
reason for so strange an opinion from a "Friend," he 
frankly detailed his discovery in the woods, and ex- 
pressed his confidence that so sincere and earnest a 
prayer would be heard and answered. 

If the reader ask me to name that feature in Wash- 
ington's life which, in my opinion, surpassed all others 
in moral sublimity, I will point him to that act of 
secret devotion, on that winter's day, at the foot of 
that old tree, and in the darkest hour of his country's 
trials. The living portraiture of moral beauty and 
grandeur is that mighty chieftain on his knees at 
prayer ! 

Washington was the representative man of his time, 
and if it is desired to know the general characteristics 
of those heroes and sa^es who ventured all for our 
freedom, and nobly won it, you have but- to look at 
Washington, in whom are beautifully blended the vir- 
tues that shone more or less in them all. He was, 
also, the representative Mason — "a good man and 
true, and strictly obeying the moral law " — a pillar of 
strength in our mystic Temple, opulent in wisdom, and 
richly adorned with that beauty which is the result of 
harmony in every part. 

While we remember with gratitude that Heaven in 
its mercy gave our country a Washington, as Masons 
we may indulge in an honest pride that we have his 
name among the illustrious workmen of our mystic 
Temple. We should therefore honor his memory, while 
we emulate his virtues. 



GEOKGE WASHINGTON. 237 

" And ye, his brothers ! who reverence the tie 

Of that union so kindred and dear, 
Whose links were let down from the throne of the sky 

To bind us in harmony here : 
Whenever you join in the banquet or song, 

Let remembrance enkindle your love 
For him who is joined with that radiant throng 

In the Lodge that assembles above." 

But the labors of our chieftain-brother are ended, 
and he has been called up to receive his reward and 
his Master's approval. He "finished his work," and he 
finished it well. Deep and solid he laid the foundation 
of this mighty nation. His was " square work/' even 
when tested by the severest rules of the Art. He 
proved himself a master- workman, wherever and when- 
ever he applied his strength and skill ; and at near the 
age which Providence usually allots to man, at peace 
with the world, in the bosom of his family, in a green 
and honored old age, he laid him down and died, in 
full hope of a " glorious immortality," and was buried 
on his own ground, on the shores of the noble stream 
so dear to his heart. 

" Disturb not his slumbers ; let Washington sleep, 
'Neath the boughs of the willow that over him weep; 
His arm is unnerved, but his deeds remain bright 
As the stars in the dark- vaulted heaven at night. 

" ! wake not the hero, his battles are o'er ; 
Let him rest, calmly rest, on his own native shore ; 
While the Stars and the Stripes of our Country shall wave 
O'er the land that can boast of a Washington's grave." 

The fame of our Washington has gone over the world. 
His exalted virtues, his mighty achievements, his un- 
sullied character, and his uncorrupted and incorruptible 
integrity, have extorted homage even fr< m our enemies. 



238 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

The sons of our old oppressor, even, have awarded the 
chaplet to our chieftain-brother; and, in closing this 
sketch, I will quote from an English writer the senti- 
ments of an English heart : 

" There's a Star in the West that shall never go down 

Till the records of valor decay ; 
We must worship its light, though it ia not our own, 

For Liberty bursts in it3 ray : 
Shall the name of a Washington ever be heard 

By a freeman, and thrill not his breast ? 
Is there one out of bondage that hails not the word 

As the Bethlehem Star of the West? 

" * War, war to the knife; be enthralled, or ye die ! ' 

Was the echo that woke in the land ; 
But it was not his voice that had prompted the cry, 

Nor his madness that kindled the brand. 
He raised not his arm, he defied not his foes, 

While a leaf of the olive remained, 
Till, goaded with insult, his spirit arose 

Like a long-baited lion enchained : 

a Then struck with firm courage the blow of the brave, 

But sighed for the carnage that spread ; 
He indignantly trampled the yoke of the slave, 

But wept for the thousands that bled. 
Though he threw back the fetters and headed the strife 

Till man's charter was fully restored, 
Yet he prayed for the moment when freedom and life 

Should no longer be pressed by the sword. 

" ! his laurels were pure, and his patriot name 

In the page of the future shall dwell, 
And be seen in the annals, the foremost in fame, 

By the side of a Hofer and Tell. 
Revile not my song ; for the wise and the good 

Among Britons have nobly confessed 
That his was the glory, and ours was the blood, 

Of the deenlv-stain'd fields of the West." 



DE WITT CLINTON. 



DE WITT CLINTON. 



De Witt Clinton, the son of Brigadier-General 
James Clinton, was born at Little Britain, Orange 
County, New York, March 2, 1769. His descent, on his 
father's side, was from English ancestors, and on the 
mother's side he was of French extraction. His youth 
was spent at home, where he began his education in a 
grammar-school, which was subsequently continued at 
the academy in Kingston, and finally completed at 
the Columbia College, where he bore away the college 
honors, in 1786. Immediately after his graduation he 
commenced the study of law, in the office of Samuel 
Jones, in the city of New York, and was admitted to 
the bar in 1788. He was subsequently married to 
Miss Maria Franklin, who brought him a liberal for- 
tune. 

Having an ardent temperament and a lofty ambition, 
he was led into the political field, and his opinions and 
sympathies determined his position under the banner 
of his kinsman, George Clinton, who was, at that 
time, at the head of the Republican party. While the 

21 (241) 



242 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

question of the adoption of the Federal Constitution 
was yet a subject of popular discussion, he displayed 
his talents as a controversialist in a series of letters 
published at that time, signed "A Countryman," in 
reply to the celebrated letters of the Federalist. He 
attended the State Convention which adopted the Con- 
stitution, and reported its debates for the press, and, 
abandoning his profession, became the private secre- 
tary of his kinsman, George Clinton, then Governor 
of New York. About this time he was appointed one 
of the secretaries of the Board of Eegents of the New 
York University, and also secretary of the Board of 
Commissioners of State Fortifications. On the retire- 
ment of Governor Clinton and the accession of Mr. Jay 
to the gubernatorial chair, he relinquished his offices, 
but continued to advocate the cause of republicanism, 
in opposition to the administration of Mr. Jay in the 
State, and of Mr. Adams at Washington. He evinced 
his patriotism, while assailing the Federalists for their 
alleged hostility to France, by raising, equipping, 
commanding, and disciplining an artillery company, 
which was kept in readiness for the anticipated war. 
Besides all these occupations, he devoted himself to the 
study of natural philosophy, history, and other sciences. 
In 1797 and '98 he represented New York in the 
Lower House of the Assembly, and was subsequently 
chosen State Senator for four years. As one of the 
Governor's council, he was active in securing the means 
of defense for a threatened invasion, and, also, in urging 
the importance of sanitary laws for the protection of 
health. He warmly advocated the improvement of the 
laws for the promotion of agriculture, manufactures, 



DE WITT CLINTON. 243 

and the arts, and labored to stimulate the great and 
finally successful effort of the time, to bring steam into 
use as an agent of navigation, employing all his talents 
and influence in mitigating the evils of imprisonment 
for debt, and the abolition of slavery, which then ex- 
isted in the State. 

At the early age of thirty- three his brilliant service 
in the Senate of the State was crowned by his election 
to the Senate of the United States. While a member of 
the United States Senate, he impressed upon the coun- 
try a conviction of his eminent ability as a statesman. 
His elaborate and exhaustive speech in the Senate, in 
favor of moderation during a high popular excitement 
against Spain for her violation of treaty stipulations, 
in interfering with the commercial regulations of citi- 
zens of the United States on the banks of the Missis- 
sippi, indicated the broad, statesmanlike views by which 
he was governed. 

He continued in Congress until called to assume the 
mayoralty of the city of New York, in 1803, by the ap- 
pointment of George Clinton, who had again been elected 
Governor, and a Republican Council. He remained un- 
disturbed in this office for five years, when he was 
removed. In 1809 he was restored to office, but was 
displaced again in 1810. In the following year he was 
re-elected, and continued in office till 1815, a period of 
four years. During this time, from 1803 to 1815, he 
was a member of the State Senate, and in 1811 was 
elected Lieutenant-Governor. 

In 1813 he was nominated by the Republican party 
as candidate for the Presidency of the United States, 
in opposition to Mr. Madison, and received eighty- 



214 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

nine electoral votes out of two hundred and eleven. 
His defeat operated disastrously, not only upon the 
Eepublican party, but upon himself, and, for awhile, 
he became unpopular. His sterling virtues, however, 
enabled him to outlive the calumnies of his enemies, 
while his stern adherence to principle, and his zealous 
labors to promote the public good, would not allow 
him to be forgotten. The city of New York had begun 
to feel the beneficial influence of the centralization of 
commerce. The deficiencies of its municipal laws, its 
defenses, its scientific, literary, and art institutions, 
were profoundly felt; but some lofty and comprehen- 
sive mind was wanting to embody this feeling and give 
it direction. De Witt Clinton was the man for the 
time. Associating with other citizens who engaged in 
the establishment of schools designed to afford the ad- 
vantages of primary education to all, and with others 
who engaged in founding institutions of a higher grade, 
as well as those for the encouragement of the arts, 
agriculture, and manufactures, as well as benevolent 
institutions for the correction of vice and the promotion 
of morals, he showed a large-heartedness and liberality 
which distinguished him as a most efficient philan- 
thropist. All these institutions shared largely in his 
pen, his tongue, his purse, and his wide-spread influence 
and official sanction. He showed his loyalty by the 
utmost liberality and efficiency, both as a mayor and 
legislator, in securing adequate means for public de- 
fense, by providing loans for the government, by voting 
supplies of material and men, and by soliciting the 
military command, to which his courage, talents, and 
influence justly entitled him. 



DE WITT CLINTON. 245 

Besides all this, he adopted, and supported most ably 
and efficiently, the policy of the construction of canals 
from Lakes Erie and Champlain to the tide-water of 
the Hudson, and showed most conclusively to his fel- 
low-citizens the benefits of such improvements to the 
city and State, and the whole country. So successful 
was he in showing up the advantages of this great work 
of internal improvement, that, in 1812, he was deputed 
by the Legislature of the State to submit that great 
project to the Federal Government at Washington, and 
solicit the national patronage. Though the enterprise 
did not then, on account of the unsettled state of the 
country, resulting from the war, succeed, yet it was only 
delayed, and in 1815 Clinton prepared an argument 
in favor of the Erie and Champlain Canals, which was 
at once vigorous, comprehensive, and conclusive. It 
was in the form of a memorial from the citizens of 
ISTew York to the Legislature of the State, and was 
submitted to a public meeting for adoption. The city 
immediately adopted it, and recommended the citizens 
of the State to do the same, which they did with enthu- 
siasm, and other States and Territories gave in their ap- 
proval of the enterprise. The Legislature of New York 
appointed Clinton with others as commissioners to make 
the necessary surveys and estimates, solicit grants and 
donations, and report to the next session. His suc- 
cess in the undertaking was such that popular favor 
returned, and he was again elected Governor of New 
York by the unanimous voice of the people. When his 
term of service expired, he was re-elected over D. D. 
Tompkins, then Vice-President of the United States. 
At the close of the term he declined a re-election. In 



246 MASONIC BIOGEAPHY. 

1826 he was again elected. During his entire admin- 
istration he gave the best evidence of ability and 
patriotism, filling the high and important office with 
a dignity unequaled in the history of the State. In 
1825, while Governor of the State, he was permitted 
to realize his highest wishes in sailing on a barge in 
the canal which connected Lake Erie with New York, 
the ground of which he broke with his own hand in 
1817. Having inaugurated the construction of branches 
of the Erie Canal, by which it was ultimately connected 
with Lake Ontario, the Susquehanna, the Alleghany, 
and St. Lawrence Pvivers, his counsel was sought in all 
directions, and he presided at the openings of similar 
canals in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and 
Illinois. 

He was thus permitted to witness the result of his 
labors in the opening up of the channels of commerce, 
and the rapidly increasing prosperity of the country. 
No man ever lived to better purpose; and the various 
institutions which he was instrumental in founding, 
and the improvements which he inaugurated, will prove 
a monument to his fame more enduring than brass, or 

" Storied urn, or animated bust." 

Having "stood in his lot to the end of his days," 
he closed his life at Albany, the seat of his official au- 
thority, and the theater of his active life, on the 11th 
of February, 1828. At his death, party spirit was 
hushed into silence, and a grateful people poured forth 
a tribute of affection to his memory. 

Having presented the reader with a brief sketch of 
the career of this distinguished philanthropist and 



DE WITT CLINTON. 247 

statesman, it now becomes our duty to furnish an out- 
line of his masonic life. De Witt Clinton was initiated 
into the mysteries of the ancient and honorable Craft, 
in the Holland Lodge, New York, some time during 
the summer of 1793. At the election of that Lodge, 
in 1793, he was chosen Senior Warden, and on the 
24th of December delivered an oration before the 
Lodge. In December, 1794, he was elected Master of 
the Lodge, and presided over its labors with distin- 
guished ability for the period of one year. In 1795 
he was elected Junior Warden of the Grand Lodge, 
and re-elected in 1796 and 1797. In 1798 he was 
elected Grand Senior Warden, and in 1806 he was 
elected Grand Master, which office he filled, with credit 
to himself and honor to the Craft, for thirteen consecu- 
tive years. 

At his installation as Grand Master of the Grand 
Lodge of New York, in the month of June, 1806, he 
delivered an address, a copy of which was requested 
by the Grand Lodge for publication. The sentiments 
of this address are so admirably in keeping with his 
character as a man and a Mason, that we can not 
withhold portions of it from the reader. After discuss- 
ing the benefits resulting from the principles of vol- 
untary association, he says: 

"Of all the institutions which have been established 
for the purpose of improving our condition, none are 
more beneficial than charitable ones, and these are 
as diversified as the wants and miseries of man. 
Among associations of this description Freemasonry 
stands as pre-eminent in usefulness as it is in age. 
Its origin is lost in the abyss of unexplored antiquity. 



248 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

No historical records, no traditionary accounts can 
point out the time, the place, or the manner of its 
commencement. While some have endeavored to dis- 
cover its footsteps among the master-builders and art- 
ists engaged in the construction of the Jewish Temple, 
others have attempted to trace it to the Eleusinian 
mysteries, which are said to have taught the immor- 
tality of the soul, and other sublime truths of natural 
religion. Some again have ascribed its rise to the 
sainted heroes of the Crusades, while others have en- 
deavored to penetrate the mysteries of the Druids, and 
to discover its origin among the wise men of that in- 
stitution. Amid this uncertainty, which must ever 
result from the absence of written history, our safest 
course is to avoid a particular conclusion, and to rest 
satisfied with the general conviction that our Society 
is the most ancient benevolent institution in the world. 
It is remarked, by an eloquent and profound delineator 
of nature, that no other species but that of man is gen- 
erally diffused over the globe. The assimilation of his 
nature to every clime and country indicates his excel- 
lence and demonstrates his superiority. This remark 
may be applied, with some modification, to our Institu- 
tion. While other societies are either ephemeral in 
point of duration, or limited in respect to place, Free- 
masonry is coextensive with the enlightened part of 
the human race, and has raised its insignia in every 
quarter of the globe. Wherever man, in his cultivated 
state, fixes his habitation, Freemasonry may be seen 
enlightening and consoling him. No diversity of re- 
ligion or form of government opposes barriers to her 
progress. Amid the dark clouds of fanaticism and 



DE WITT CLINTON. 249 

despotism she may be seen shining with unsullied 
brightness, diffusing light and imparting joy. In 
countries where one man's happiness is the cause of all 
men's misery, we observe, with astonishment, the ardor 
with which our Institution is cultivated, and the eager- 
ness with which it is embraced by all descriptions of 
men ; but our astonishment must cease when we reflect 
that it inculcates the natural equality of mankind. It 
declares that all brethren are upon a level, and admits 
of no rank except the priority of merit; while its only 
aristocracy is the nobility of virtue. The eagerness, 
therefore, with which men resort, in despotic countries, 
to the standard of Freemasonry, is the effort of nature 
to discover her original rites, and to surmount the 
corruptions of society. Amid the pleasing intercourse 
of brethren, the artificial distinctions of rank and 
office, and the adventitious advantages of wealth, are 
lost. Seeing the strong hold which Masonry has upon 
the human heart; that it entwines itself with the best 
sympathies of our nature, and is approved by the most 
enlightened faculties of the mind; that all the terrors 
of punishment, that even the horrid Inquisition has 
not been able to destroy the Institution ; that, like the 
true religion, it has flourished on the blood-stained soil 
of persecution — who can fail to realize its worth? The 
despotic ruler, perceiving these striking characteristics 
of Freemasonry, and despairing of extirpating it, has 
endeavored to make it an engine of State, or to regu- 
late it in a way conformable to his interests ; hence, he 
has frequently descended from his throne, approached 
with reverential awe our sacred altars, and mingled 
freely among the brotherhood. 



250 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

"The beneficent and enlightened ruler, although 
clothed with unlimited power, yet anxious for the 
good of his subjects, can not fail of countenancing an 
institution calculated to produce so much good to 
mankind. Hence, from different motives, and with 
various views, our Society has been encouraged and 
fostered in the most ungenial clime. Its progress in 
free nations, where law, liberty, and good order prevail, 
has been singularly great; but in these United States 
it has attained an elevation and a perfection unequaled 
in other countries. It travels with our population 
from the Atlantic to the Michigan — from the St. Law- 
rence to the Missouri ; it flourishes in the sequestered 
hamlet, as well as in the wealthy city; it is embraced 
by all descriptions of men, as a softener of the cares 
and an improver of the felicities of life." 

The above extracts show the broad and comprehen- 
sive view taken by one who was deemed worthy by his 
masonic peers to be elevated to the throne of Masonry, 
and to rule over the Craft in the Empire State. The 
trusts reposed in him, from time to time, in the various 
departments of Masonry, were never betrayed on the 
one hand, or feebly administered on the other. 

We are not advised as to the time or place, when, 
and where Mr. Clinton became a Eoyal-Arch Mason, 
but presume it was in the city of New York, and soon, 
after he had fathomed the mysteries of symbolic Ma- 
sonry. We know he was a member of the G. G. Chap- 
ter in 1799, as D. G. H. P. of the G. Chapter of New 
York. He was elected G. G. H. P. of the G. G. Chap- 
ter of the United States in 1816, and held the office, 
by re-election, until 1826. It was during his services 



DE WITT CLINTON. 251 

as the presiding officer of this body, and also as Gov- 
ernor of the State, that the " Morgan excitement " be- 
gan. Anti-masons, especially those among his political 
enemies, did not fail to make use of this occurrence to 
injure the fair fame of the chief magistrate of the State. 
All Masons had to share a portion of the common 
odium, which, for a season, rested upon the Order, and 
the highest officer of the highest and most select ma- 
sonic organization in the country naturally became heir 
to a double portion. It was hinted that he knew all 
about it ; that he sheltered the guilty ones ; or, at least, 
that he did not use his official position to bring them to 
condign punishment, etc. The more distinguished the 
mark, the more numerous the missiles hurled at it, 
always : in this case, because the Governor was, at the 
same time, the head of the Craft, he was, therefore, 
deemed the most guilty, and was doomed to receive the 
largest share of abuse. Yet, we are pleased to be able 
to say, that no man more promptly and unequivocally 
denounced the whole proceeding — the abduction of Mor- 
gan — and none made greater efforts to bring the offend- 
ers, whoever they might be, to justice, than he. He 
immediately opened a correspondence with gentlemen 
in the region where the offense was committed, looking 
to the adoption of active measures to bring the perpe- 
trators of it to punishment. He issued his proclama- 
tion, enjoining upon "all State officers and ministers of 
justice in the State, and particularly in the county of 
Genessee, to pursue all proper and efficient measures 
for the apprehension of the offenders, and the preven- 
tion of future outrages;" and, also, requesting "the 
good citizens of this State to co-operate with the civil 



252 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

authorities in maintaining the ascendency of law and 
good order." This was on the 7th of October, 1826. 
On the 26th of the same month he issued a second 
proclamation, offering a large reward for the discovery 
and conviction of the offenders, or any one of them ; 
and an additional reward "for authentic information 
of the place where the said "William Morgan has been 
conveyed," etc. 

In December following, the Court being about to hold 
a session in Ontario County, at which it was expected 
that proceedings would be had against some of the Mor- 
gan abductors, he determined that the State should be 
well represented ; and that there might be no failure 
for want of legal talent in asserting the majesty of the 
law, he wrote to the Attorney-General of the State, and 
especially requested him to attend in person, to aid the 
District Attorney in any prosecutions against offenders. 
Early in the winter he opened a correspondence with 
the Governors of Upper and Lower Canada, with a 
view of ascertaining the whereabouts of the missing 
Morgan, or, if imprisoned or dead, to get on the track 
of the guilty parties. 

Still no clue could be obtained of Morgan : still no 
one had been proved guilty of his abduction or murder. 
The mystery deepened ; the excitement increased. The 
Governor had watched the proceedings with an anxious 
eye. If the guilty parties were Masons, he desired they 
should suffer the consequences, as though they were not, 
that the Order might be purged of the stain, instead of 
being charged as partie&ps criminis; and, whether they 
were or not, he wished the outraged laws to be avenged, 
and quiet and good order preserved. For this purpose, 



DE WITT CLINTON. 253 

on the 19th of March, 1827, he issued another proc- 
lamation, in which, after setting forth the fact that 
the measures adopted for the discovery of Morgan had 
not been attended with success, he adds : 

" Now, therefore, to the end that, if living, he may 
be restored to his family, and, if murdered, that the 
perpetrators may be brought to condign punishment, 
I have thought fit to issue this proclamation, promis- 
ing a reward of one thousand dollars for the discovery 
of the offender or offenders, to be paid on conviction, 
and on the certificate of the Attorney-General, or of- 
ficer prosecuting on the part of the State, that the 
person or persons claiming the said last-mentioned re- 
ward is or are justly entitled to the same under this 
proclamation. And I further promise a free pardon, 
so far as I am authorized under the constitution of this 
State, to any accomplice or co-operator who shall make 
a full discovery of the offender or offenders. And I do 
enjoin it upon all officers and ministers of justice, and 
all other persons, to be vigilant and active in bringing 
to justice the perpetrators of a crime so abhorrent to 
humanity, and so derogatory from the ascendency of 
law and good order." 

This does not sound as though the Governor desired 
to shelter the criminal, even though he were a Mason, 
from the legal consequences of his transgression. It is 
hardly necessary, after the foregoing, to hear Governor 
Clinton in self-defense, yet we will quote a single ex- 
tract from a letter from him to Jacob Leroy, Esq., 
dated November 3, 1827 : 

u I have always condemned the abduction of Mor- 
gan, and have never spoken of the measure but as a 



254 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

most unwarrantable outrage, and as deserving the most 
severe punishment. I had no previous knowledge of 
any such intention. I never gave it, before or after, 
the least encouragement, either verbally or in writing, 
directly or indirectly." 

Every unprejudiced mind will believe the statement. 

At the triennial session of the General Grand Chap- 
ter of the United States; held in the city of New York, 
in September, 1829, the following report, in relation to 
the death of Governor Clinton, was made by a com- 
mittee, and unanimously approved by the G. G. Chapter : 

" The committee that had under consideration the 
subject of a proper notice of our bereavement in the 
death of De Witt Clinton, the first officer of this masonic 
body, ask leave to report : 

"That, as more than nineteen months have elapsed 
since this mournful event, in their opinion the custom- 
ary funeral rites, so consonant to the heaviness of recent 
grief, and so proper in their season, should be dispensed 
with at this meeting; as shrouding our Council- chamber 
in black, or wearing a badge of mourning for thirty 
days, would add nothing to the deep sense we feel at 
our loss, or fix more indelibly in our minds the recollec- 
tions of his services. But, as no accident or length of 
time can ever efface or blot out his name from the pages 
of his country's history, or lessen the weight of his 
character, we deem it most meet and proper, while in 
session for the first time after his death, to leave on our 
records a brief memorial of so great and good a man as 
our late High Priest; and, also, to tell the world how 
sincerely we loved him, and to give our successors, or 
those who may search our archives hereafter, to under- 



DE WITT CLINTON* 255 

stand what manner of man we thought him — we, who 
lived in his day, and were guided by his counsels. 

"For in him were united exalted genius, profound 
acquirements, a happy tact in business, with great pa- 
tience and unwearied industry. In the morning of life 
he took up the noble determination to be great, and to 
make usefulness the basis of that greatness. 

" He came to the duties of a freeman when our Be- 
public, exhausted with the struggles for independence, 
was attempting to fix our institutions upon the rights 
of man, and the principles of eternal justice; but there 
was often seen a timid hand and vacillating policy. In 
the conflict of honest opinions he boldly took his part; 
and, if his zeal at times excited the fears of his fol- 
lowers, his patriotism won the hearts of his oppo- 
nents. 

"The portals of knowledge were then just opening 
anew in this country, with the brightest promises; and 
he was charmed with all her paths. With the grasp of 
genius he held the lamp of science through the wander- 
ings of literature and the mazes of politics ; and moral, 
political, and literary institutions received advantages 
from his intellectual light. Nor was he content to rest 
here, for he saw at a glance that Omnipotence, when 
he stamped the features and marked the physiognomy 
of the earth, gave intimations to man that he might 
change and improve these features for his benefit. His 
mind no sooner conceived than his soul was fired with 
the project, which he carried into effect. It was no 
narrow plan, no pitiful experiment, governed by village 
economy or district politics; the design was worthy of 
a master-mind, and the execution of an herculean arm. 



256 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

The seas of the wilderness were united with the Atlantic 
Ocean. He saw the labor finished, and heard the voice 
of the people pronounce it to he good. In the midst of 
these arduous labors he did not forget how much human 
happiness depends upon well-regulated affections and 
permanent charities, and he entered the pale of our 
Order, and assumed the duties of Master, Almoner, and 
Priest; to teach the ignorant, and to check the wander- 
ing; to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and to im- 
plore blessings upon all mankind. 

" He was morally, as well as physically, brave ; and, 
in the generosity of his nature, pitied that miserable 
flock who, in the mild and peaceful day, turned their 
plumage to the sun for brilliant reflections, to attract 
notice and gain admiration from the world, but who 
were not to be found when the elements were troubled. 
He poised his eagle- wing on the whirlwind, and fear- 
lessly breasted the peltiDgs of the storm. 

" His enemies, reviewing his life, are silent when they 
cast up the amount of his virtues, and his friends love 
him the more when they recount the deeds he has done. 
Malice never charged him with avarice, nor did Slander 
ever whisper that he could be corrupted by gold. If 
sometimes disappointed Ambition, in a paroxysm at the 
loss of office, alleged that he was partial, in a calmer 
moment she was forced to confess that his errors (for 
he was human, and could not be free from them) sprung 
from the irregular pulsations of too warm a heart, and 
from too much confidence in the professions of assimu- 
lated virtue ; and even Envy, that first wishes and then 
believes all ill, owns, since he is gone, that the only 
harvest he ever gathered in was glory; and all must 



DE WITT CLINTON. 257 

acknowledge that the only estate he left for his orphan 
children is his fame. 

" His exertions were not limited to the temporal wel- 
fare of his fellow-men, for he knew that the excellency 
of all knowledge consists in divine truth; and he was 
unremitting in his efforts to disseminate the Sacred 
Writings, believing that in them are the oracles of God, 
and the promises of everlasting life. 

"His death has been deplored as that of one who 
died too early ; but if the prominent deeds of men are 
so many milestones on the journey of life, his course 
can not have been short who has set up so many monu- 
ments as he traveled onward to eternity. True, all 
was finished before age had required the sustaining 
staff or the helping hand. 

"Such was our companion and brother, the late % 
chief officer of this General Grand Chapter: the pride 
of those who lived and acted with him, and an example 
for those who may hereafter arise to take a distin- 
guished part in the welfare of our country. 

"Let learned biographers write his life; let talented 
artists chisel his monument, and mold his bust for an 
admiring people, while we must content ourselves with 
a miniature profile of him, traced in a single moment, 
when kneeling at our altars; but there is some conso- 
lation for us in feeling that this sketch is made, as it 
were, upon our jewels, and is to be worn on our breasts, 
an emblem — a faint one, indeed — of his image in our 
hearts." 

The "Grand Encampment of Sir Knights Templar 
and Appendant Orders, for the State of New York," 
(now the Grand Commandery of New York,) was 
22 



258 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

"regularly constituted by the Sov. Grand Consistory 
of the Chiefs of Exalted Masonry for the United States 
of America, its Territories and Dependencies, sitting in 
New York, on the 18th of June, 1814," and De Witt 
Clinton was elected its first officer, then styled " Thrice 
Illustrious Grand Master." He continued to be re- 
elected Grand Master at every annual conclave up to 
1827, and filled that office at the time of his death. 
He took a warm interest in the propagation of these 
sublime degrees of Christian Masonry, and attended 
the meetings of the Grand Encampment whenever his 
public duties permitted. On his death, the Grand 
Encampment was convened in special conclave, and 
adopted the following resolution: 

11 Resolved, That whereas it has pleased the Almighty 
Buler of the Universe to remove by death our M. E. 
Grand Master, De "Witt Clinton, whose eminent serv- 
ices have been so distinguished, and the excellence of 
his virtues such as were worthy of imitation by all : and, 
whereas, this Grand Encampment deeply deplore this 
afflicting dispensation, the officers and members of the 
Grand Encampment, as well as subordinate Encamp- 
ments, are requested to wear the usual badge of mourn- 
ing for thirty days ; and that it be recommended to the 
subordinate Encampments to take such order thereon 
as may be deemed most advisable." 

A resolution was also adopted requesting the D. G. 
Master, Sir W. F. Piatt, to "deliver a suitable address 
on this solemn occasion," at the next annual conclave, 
which was done; and the address was worthy the 
orator, and a fitting tribute to the fame of the emi- 
nent dead. We have only room for an extract ; 



DE WITT CLINTON. 259 

" An All- wise Providence, in His infinite wisdom, has 
seen fit to call from this mortal pilgrimage our illus- 
trious chief — to call him, we trust, from scenes of trial 
and tribulation to the full enjoyment of His divine 
presence, in that peaceful asylum where He himself 
presides. He died in the midst of active service for 
the good of this State, in the freshness and fullness of 
his merited fame, and the king of terrors has placed 
him beyond the reach of envy. Some future Homer 
will sing this senatorial Achilles. Posterity will 
build him a monument of no common stones, and 
scatter on his grave flowers which grow in no common 
fields. He has fallen peacefully in his own dwelling, 
among the representatives of the free people which 
compose this great and growing commonwealth; and, 
to their honor, those representatives, forgetting all the 
asperities of party, and concentrating all the homage 
of their heads and hearts in the recollections of his 
worth, paid him their unanimous tribute of respect 
and veneration. He was worthy the tears of the people 
in the midst of whom he has fallen. His virtues and 
talents have endeared him to all who knew him. His 
memory requires not the language of eulogy to give it 
duration, and his works, proud and lasting monuments 
of his usefulness, have woven a never-fading chaplet 
of fame with which it is crowned." 

The General Grand Encampment of Knights Tem- 
plar was organized in the city of New York, on the 
20th and 21st of June, 1816, by delegates representing 
Encampments from New York and the New England 
States, and, at the election of officers, " M. E. and Hon. 
De Witt Clinton,. of New York," was elected G. G. 



260 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

Master. He continued to fill this "office by re-election, 
and with great acceptability to the Order, until his 
death, and was succeeded by Rev. Jonathan Nye, of 
New Hampshire. At the first session of that body, 
after his decease, to-wit : in September, 1829, the fol- 
lowing resolutions were adopted : 

" Resolved , That the loss which has been sustained 
by this General Grand Encampment in the death of 
the M. E. Sir De Witt Clinton, the late General Grand 
Master, has impressed the hearts of its members with 
sentiments of profound regret, and impels them to record 
their tribute of respect among the transactions of this 
General Grand Encampment, that it may there remain 
as a testimony alike honorable to the memory of the 
deceased and to the institution over which he presided. 

" Resolved, That the members of this General Grand 
Encampment do most heartily sympathize with the 
bereaved relatives and friends of the deceased, and 
respectfully proffer their condolence under this afflict- 
ing dispensation of Divine Providence. 

"Resolved, That this General Grand Encampment, 
under a full sense of the loss sustained, feel called on 
to bow with humble resignation to the will of that mer- 
ciful Father in whose hand are the issues of life; and 
to rejoice in the assurance that that which is to us loss 
is to him gain ; and, that he with whom we have been 
so intimately connected has left us a bright example in 
the faithful performance of his duties as a patriotic citi- 
zen, and as a Christian Freemason." 

It would be a pleasure to make further record, not 
only of the eminent services to Masonry of this dis- 
tinguished brother, but of the high estimation in which 



DE WITT CLINTON. 261 

he was held by the whole body of the Craft; but enough 
has been said to place his name high upon the roll of 
our most distinguished members. After having served 
as Grand Master of Masons in New York from 1806 to 
1819; as G. H. Priest of the General Grand Chapter 
of the United States, from its organization in 1799, for 
more than twenty -five years; as Grand Master of the 
Grand Encampment of New York, from its organiza- 
tion, in 1814, to his death ; and G. G. Master of the G. 
G. Encampment of the United States, from its organi- 
zation, in 1816, until he was called to "put off the 
harness ; " and having filled all these responsible posi- 
tions with credit to himself, and honor and usefulness to 
the Order, the period at length arrived when labor was 
to give place to rest. He was sitting in his office in 
the city of Albany, conversing with his sons, when 
" the messenger came " and summoned him to his Mas- 
ter's presence. Thus died the patriot, philanthropist, 
statesman, and Mason, at peace with God and all man- 
kind. 

The sad intelligence spread mourning throughout 
the whole Masonic Fraternity, and numerous Lodges of 
Sorrow were held on occasion of the melancholy event. 
St. John's Lodge, No. 1, passed the following memo- 
rial: 

"Whereas, It has pleased the Almighty and Su- 
preme Architect of the Universe to call from earthly 
labor our Most Worshipful Past Grand Master, De Witt 
Clinton, one of our shining members, and whose name, 
m an especial manner, reflected honor on the Frater- 
nity — whose works will bear the test of time, and re- 
ceive the approbation of unborn millions; Therefore, 



262 MASONIC BIOGEAPHY. 

11 Resolved, That this Lodge, being duly sensible of 
the heavy loss which, as Masons and as men, have be- 
fallen them by the decease of our illustrious brother, in 
token thereof they wear the usual badge of mourning 
for thirty days, and that the "Worshipful Master of this 
Lodge direct the jewels and furniture of the same to. 
be clothed in weeds of mourning for the remainder of 
the present year." 

Thus we close our record of the illustrious De Witt 
Clinton. His genius contrived, and his name is con- 
nected with, the earlier works of internal improvement, 
with which his native State led in the march of prog- 
ress. As Governor of New York, his administration was 
marked by a comprehensive statesmanship and execu- 
tive ability; and as the leading spirit of our Masonic 
Israel for nearly thirty years, his name and memory 
will be cherished by the Craft while its records endure 
to tell the story of his masonic achievements and offi- 
cial faithfulness. 



BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 



BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 



Among- the Puritans who fled from persecution, 
and sought an asylum for conscience in the wilds of 
Massachusetts, was the father of the renowned Benja- 
min Franklin. He was poor, like most of our ances- 
tors, but none the less respectable on that account. 
The aristocracy of that day did not consist of wealth or 
lineal distinction, but every man was esteemed in pro- 
portion to his integrity and uprightness of heart and 
life. In his humble cot in the town of Boston, situated 
on a narrow street, running out in the rear of the Old 
South Church, he sought, by honesty and industry, to 
maintain his family with that respectability his circum- 
stances allowed. In this humble abode young Benja- 
min was born, on the 17th of January, 1706. In this 
old church, hallowed by a thousand reminiscences of 
early times, and which, during the Kevolutionary war, 
was desecrated by the British army, who tore out its 
pulpit, altar, and pews, burned its library and ancient 
manuscripts, and converted its spacious hall into a 
riding school, the infant Franklin was dedicated to God 

23 (265) 



266 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

in holy baptism. It was befitting that a child of the 
Revolution should have been baptized into a faith which 
makes all men free, and awards life, liberty, and the 
pursuit of happiness, as the inalienable rights of all, 
in that old temple of Christianity and national liberty, 
as well that he took his birth, humble though it was, 
in that old city which stands as a monument of pa- 
triotism as resistless as the ocean-tides which break 
upon the rock-bound coast where stands that old New 
England town. So long as the shipping rides in Bos- 
ton harbor, or the granite shaft pierces the skies from 
Bunker Hill, or the green sward invites to Dorchester 
Hights, so long will the memory of the brave dwell in 
the hearts of American freemen. 

The youthful Franklin gave early evidence of a mind 
of superior cast, and being sent to school, where he 
enjoyed all the advantages afforded by the primary in- 
stitutions of learning of that day, he made most aston- 
ishing progress. His father, however, was not able to 
continue him in so desirable a place for the develop- 
ment of his intellect, and, at the age of ten, he was 
obliged to take him from his books, that he might have 
his assistance in the chandler business. This did not, 
however, arrest the workings of his genius, or quench 
the aspirations of his soul. With great originality of 
mind, a distinguished trait of genius, and a somewhat 
eccentric manner, the youth of bold and daring experi- 
ment entered upon the study of natural philosophy and 
chemistry in the midst of tallow and soap. Having as- 
certained, by actual experiment, the precise quantity 
of sleep and food necessary to sustain nature in her 
healthy action, as well as the kind of aliment most 



BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 267 

conducive to health, he adopted, at that early age, a 
system of temperance, frugality, and economy worthy 
the imitation of all, no matter how far advanced in 
years. 

So thoroughly had he subjected his mind to a severe 
discipline, that he accommodated himself to all the 
circumstances in life by which he was surrounded, and 
did not allow any disappointment to depress or divert 
his mind. He fixed upon what he conceived to be the 
proper object of pursuit, and then, with an unswerving 
purpose and an unflagging energy, he addressed him- 
self to the work of attaining that object. For the im- 
provement of his mind, he devoted every leisure hour 
to reading, at the same time extending his observation 
to every object, event, or circumstance within his reach. 
His philosophic cast of intellect enabled him to apply 
the power of analysis, and draw important lessons from 
all things with which he was conversant, and the world 
knows with what clearness he comprehended the phi- 
losophy of mind and matter, of science, government 
and art, in all its various relations and appliances. 

Thus starting out upon an independent career of 
thought, he became, like all the great that had preceded 
him, the artificer of his own fame and fortune. The 
narrow precincts of a chandler's shop could not satisfy 
the aspirations of his rapidly expanding intellect, and 
it was not long until he signified to his father a desire 
to change his occupation for one more congenial to his 
nature, and better adapted to meet its wants. To this 
end he was allowed by his father to make a selection 
of a different trade, and having chosen the art of print- 
ing, he was accordingly bound an apprentice to his 



268 MASONIC BIOGKAPHY 

brother, who at that time published " The New England 
Courant," and went to work with a new zeal to master 
the mysteries of that art of arts, and which, above all 
others, wields an influence in controlling the destinies 
of men and nations. He felt that in exchanging tallow 
and soap for type and ink, that however important the 
former might be in purifying and cleansing the outward 
man, that the press was all-potent for enlightening the 
mind and improving the morals of the community, and 
that he had been happy in the choice he had made. So 
intensely was he bent on the acquisition of his trade, 
and of knowledge in general, that he sometimes spent 
whole nights at labor and study. For the purpose of 
replenishing his library, he took part of the sum paid 
him weekly for board, living on a simple vegetable diet, 
and with it purchased books. - These were selected with 
great care, and not hastily read and thrown aside, but 
studied thoroughly, and the contents made his own. 
Among the books which he read with enthusiasm was 
the " Memorabilia" of Xenophon, and he found in the 
philosophic Socrates a model which he strove hard to 
imitate. 

About this time the spirit of poesy came upon him, 
as it does upon most youth of a fervid imagination, and 
he conceived the idea of a heroic poem. His poetic 
effusion met with favor and applause from all but his 
father, who essayed to turn his rhyming propensity 
into ridicule, but at the same time intimated that he 
had doubtless some gift at prose writing, which, per- 
haps, it would be well for him to cultivate. Having 
a somewhat sensitive turn of mind, and fearing the 
shafts of a merciless criticism, he left the mount of the 



•BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 269 

muses and descended to the plain of sober prose. Still 
he was afraid to appear over his own proper signature, 
and preferring the stat nominis in umbra, he furnished 
several articles for his brother's paper, which were uni- 
versally well received. When it became known who 
the author was, so universal was the favor bestowed 
upon Franklin that his brother became jealous, and 
treated him with great harshness and severity. This 
his proud spirit could not brook, and he resolved at 
once to sever the chains which bound him to his 
tyrant brother. An opportunity presenting itself one 
day determined him on leaving Boston and going to 
New York, which he accordingly did ; but was unable, 
after arriving there, to obtain work. Not discouraged, 
however, and with but scant resources, he started on 
foot, and alone, for Philadelphia, where he arrived, a 
stranger in a strange place, only seventeen years of 
age, and with but one dollar in his purse. Full of 
courage, and determined to play the man in the great 
battle of life, he nerved himself for the strife. Believ- 
ing, as poor Eichard says, " where there is a will there 
is a way," he resolved to make what way he could out 
of the last, lingering sunshine. Accordingly, to refresh 
himself for the labor of working his way, he went 
to a baker's, and procuring two rolls of bread, which 
he placed under his arm, started in the direction of 
the river. "With his wardrobe in his pockets, and his 
bread under his arm, as he walked through Market 
Street down to the Delaware, to drink of its water and 
partake of his simple fare, his grotesque appearance 
excited the gaze of the multitude. After he had finished 
his repast, he went, with a firm step and courageous 



270 MASONIC BIOGEAPHY. 

aspect, to the printing-offices, and made application for 
employment. There were only two printing establish- 
ments in the city, and as he could not obtain employ- 
ment at the first, his only hope was the second. Noth- 
ing daunted, but, if any thing, more courageous as the 
chances grew less, he marched to the office, and — was 
successful. 

While engaged as a compositor in this office, such 
were his singular habits of industry, temperance, and 
frugality, that he won the esteem of all the good, 
nor was he unnoticed by the great. Sir William 
Keith, then Governor of the province, invited the 
3 r oung printer to his house, and treated him with the 
greatest kindness. The Governor advised him to go to 
London, promising him assistance, and, on his consent- 
ing, gave him letters of recommendation. He accord- 
ingly embarked on a vessel, and arriving at London, 
found himself again thrown upon his own resources, a 
stranger in a strange land. Pushing his way, he soon 
found employment, and, with the same ease as at home, 
gained the confidence and esteem of his employers and 
acquaintances. Being, however, dissatisfied with the 
country, at the expiration of eighteen months he em- 
barked for Philadelphia. On the passage he had ample 
time for reflection and study; and during the voyage 
he digested and drew up a set of rules for the govern- 
ment of his conduct, by which he obligated himself to 
frugality, unswerving fidelity to truth at all times and 
in all places, perfect sincerity, never allowing himself 
to create expectations in others not to be realized, never 
to speak evil of others, but feel the woes and hide the 
faults of all; and, in fine, to regard the human family 



BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 271 

as a common brotherhood, doing good to all. Upon a 
foundation like this, what youth would not rear a 
superstructure more enduring and beautiful than the 
proudest monuments of Greece and Eome? We doubt 
whether any man ever became great — certainly, none 
ever became good — who had not some fixed rules of life 
to which he adhered with a firmness of purpose, resist- 
ing all temptations to evil, and marching forward in 
the path of duty. 

"When he arrived at Philadelphia, which was on the 
11th of October, 1726, he was in the twentieth year of 
his age. Having on the passage formed an acquaintance 
with the merchant who owned the goods which made 
up the vessel's cargo, he entered his store as a clerk. 
Here, in this new field, an opportunity was afforded 
for exhibiting that versatility of talent which char- 
acterized him in all the departments of life. He soon 
became as much at home behind the counter as at the 
case; and such was his success in his new vocation, 
that a brilliant prospect was opening before him in the 
future. In this, however, he was doomed to disappoint- 
ment. His employer died, and the establishment was 
closed. This calamity drove him back to his types, and 
after working for a few months with his old patron, he 
found a partner who had more money than brains, 
and with him commenced a lucrative business. Having 
now found a field for the full enlistment of all his ener- 
gies, he summoned all his industry and artistic skill; 
and such was his enterprise, that he soon found it ad- 
vantageous to buy out his partner, who had become 
worthless and embarrassing to the firm. He had found 
"the tide" which, "in the affairs of men, when taken 



272 MASONIC BIOGKAPHY. 

at the flood, leads on to fortune," and on that tide, 
unseduced by the blandishment of vice and folly, as he 
had been unmoved by the disappointment of life and 
the world's cold scorn, he went on the even tenor of 
his way, cheered by the smiles of an abundant pros- 
perity. 

"We have now arrived at that period in the life of 
Franklin when his masonic history commences. Every 
event in the life of so extraordinary a man must be 
interesting to his countrymen; and the fact that he 
was an active and distinguished member of the Masonic 
Fraternity during the whole period of his adult life, is 
one the importance of which should not lightly be passed 
over: that it should have been omitted entirely by his 
biographers is enough to show how one-sided and par- 
tial, and consequently unreliable, must be all such 
narratives. To suppress important facts in the life of 
an individual, especially when they must have had a 
wonderful influence upon his principles and modes of 
action, is an unpardonable oversight or gross dereliction 
of duty on the part of the historian, which no prejudice 
on his part, or that of the community for whom he 
writes, can justify. In the estimation of some, associa- 
tion with the Masonic Fraternity is of itself sufficient 
to deprive a man of all claims to honesty and integrity, 
and so deeply impressed are this class with the idea 
that it is impossible for any thing good to come out of 
Nazareth, or, in other words, for a Mason to be either 
a man of sense or goodness, that every means is re- 
sorted to for the purpose of ignoring the fact. 

Our object is to bring out the character of Frank- 
lin as a Mason, and we trust, before we are through 



BENJAMIN FEANKLIN. 273 

with tins sketch, that fact will abundantly appear, and 
we shall see that to that ancient and honorable Fra- 
ternity he sustained a close, continued, and distinguished 
relation during much the larger portion of his useful 
life. We are sorry that more historic facts of his ma- 
sonic life have not been preserved; but we are, never- 
theless, gratified in being able to present to our readers 
such reliable information as will satisfy all of his iden- 
tity with, and attachment for, the Masonic Institution. 
The fact of his having become a member of the Fra- 
ternity, and for many long years a zealous advocate 
of its principles, is a matter of history, but when and 
where he joined the Association is not known. There 
is an old engraving representing his reception in a 
Lodge at Paris, and it is stated that his name is re- 
corded in the books of one of the Lodges of that city, 
as having received the degrees there. "The Massa- 
chusetts Historical Collections," vol. vi, third series, 
contains the following description of a medal which was 
presented to Franklin by his French brethren, but on 
what occasion it is impossible to conjecture: "Diame- 
ter, one inch and three-fifths. Obverse — fine bust of 
Franklin. Legend: 'Benjaminis Franklin.' Eeverse — 
masonic emblems, the serpent's ring, carpenter's square 
and compass; in the center, a triangle, and the sacred 
name in Hebrew, etc. Legend: 'Leo Mac. Fran, a 
Franklin M: de la L — des 9 Sceurs 0. de Paris, 
5778.'" 

It is known that Franklin did not visit France until 
1766, and that this medal could not have been given 
to him at his initiation, inasmuch as he was a Mason 
in 1734; for, on the 24th of June of that year a peti- 



274 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

tion, signed by him and several brethren residing in 
Philadelphia, was presented to the Grand Lodge of 
Massachusetts, praying for a dispensation to hold a 
Lodge in that city. The prayer of the petitioners was 
granted, and Franklin was appointed the first Master 
of the new Lodge. 

He was by this dispensation invested with special 
powers, inasmuch as in November following he affixed 
to his name the title of Grand Master of Pennsylvania, 
and gave to his Lodge the rank of a Grand Lodge. 

In the archives of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts 
are to be found the following letters from Pranklin to 
said Lodge: 

Right Worshipful Grand Master and Most Worthy and Dear 
Brethren: "We acknowledge your favor of the 23d of October past, 
and rejoice that the Grand Master (whom God bless) hath so happily 
recovered from his late indisposition, and we now (glass in hand) 
drink to the establishment of his health, and the prosperity of 
your whole Lodge. 

"We have seen in the Boston prints an article of news from Lon- 
don, importing that, at a Grand Lodge held there in August last, 
Mr. Price's deputation and power was extended over all America, 
which advice we hope is true, and heartily congratulate him there- 
upon. And though this has not been as yet regularly signified to us 
by you, yet, giving credit thereto, we think it our duty to lay before 
your Lodge what we apprehend needful to be done for us in order 
to promote and strengthen the interests of Masonry in this province, 
(which seems to want the sanction of some authority derived from 
home to give the proceedings and determinations of our Lodge their 
due weight,) to-wit: a Deputation or Charter granted by the Eight 
"Worshipful Mr. Price, by virtue of his commission from Britain, 
confirming the brethren of Pennsylvania in the privileges they at 
present enjoy of holding annually their Grand Lodge, choosing their 
Master, "Wardens, and other officers, who may manage all affairs re- 
lating to the brethren here, with full power and authority according 
to the customs and usages of Masons, the said Grand Master of 



BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 275 

Pennsylvania only yielding his chair when the Grand Master of all 
America shall be in place. This, if it seem good and reasonable to 
you to grant, will not only be extremely agreeable to us, but will 
also, we are confident, conduce much to the welfare, establishment, 
and reputation of Masonry in these parts. "We, therefore, submit 
it for your consideration, and as we hope our request will be com- 
plied with, we desire that it may be done as soon as possible, and 
also accompanied with a copy of the Right "Worshipful Grand 
Master's first Deputation, and of the instrument by which it appears 
to be enlarged as above mentioned, witnessed by your Wardens, and 
signed by the Secretary, for which favors this Lodge doubt not of 
being able to behave as not to be thought ungrateful. 

"We are, Right "Worshipful Grand Master and Most "Worthy 
Brethren, your affectionate brethren and obliged humble servants. 
(Signed, at the request of the Lodge,) B. Franklin, G. M. 

Philadelphia, November 28, 1734. 

Accompanying the above communication was a pri- 
vate letter addressed by Franklin to Henry Price, Esq., 
Grand Master, in the following language: 

Dear Brother Price : I am heartily glad to hear of your recovery. 
I hoped to have seen you here this fall, agreeable to the expectation 
you were so good as to give me; but, since sickness has prevented 
your coming while the weather was moderate, I have no room to 
flatter myself with a visit from you before spring, when a deputa- 
tion from the brethren here will have an opportunity of showing 
how much they esteem you. I beg leave to recommend their 
request to you, and to inform you that some false and rebel brethren, 
who are foreigners, being about to set up a distinct Lodge in opposi- 
tion to the old and true brethren here, pretending to make Masons 
for a bowl of punch; and the Craft is like to come into disesteem 
among us, unless the true brethren are countenanced and distin- 
guished by some such special authority as herein desired. I entreat, 
therefore, that whatever you shall think proper to do therein, may 
be sent by the next post, if possible, or the next following. 

I am your affectionate brother and humble servant, 

B. Franklin, G. M. of Pennsylvania, 

P. S.— If more of the " Constitutions " are wanted among you, 
please hint it to me. 



276 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

The "Constitutions" referred to in the above post- 
script was a small volume of "Masonic Constitutions/' 
printed by Franklin in 1734. It was an exact copy 
and reprint of the first edition of " Anderson's Masonic 
Constitutions/' published under the sanction of the 
Grand Lodge of England in 1723. The first American 
edition, by Franklin, is now exceedingly scarce; but 
three copies are known to be in existence. It was the 
first masonic book published in this country, and the 
probability is that it was the first book published at 
the Franklin press. Two years prior to the publica- 
tion of the book of Constitutions he commenced the 
publication of "Poor Richard's Almanac," which he 
continued for five years, circulating ten thousand 
copies annually. This work, although of unpretending 
title, was one of great merit and usefulness, being 
filled with maxims and rules of the highest importance 
for every-day use in the various relations. It was so 
highly prized in Europe, that it was translated into 
several languages. We well recollect with what inter- 
est we read in our youth the sayings of Poor Eichard, 
many of which are still fresh in our memory. About 
this time also he commenced the publication of a news- 
paper, which was conducted with great ability, free 
from all that personal abuse and low scurrility that, 
alas, to a great extent, characterize many of the par- 
tisan prints of the present day. 

To a heart naturally benevolent, and which the prin- 
ciples of the Order whose motto is " Brotherly Love, 
Belief, and Truth," gave a wider philanthropy, was 
united an intellect of great strength and power, em- 
bracing in its comprehensive grasp the grand principles 



BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 277 

of human happiness : and nothing yielded him greater 
pleasure than to better the condition of his fellow-men. 
The more effectually to carry out his wishes, he formed 
a "Junto," governed by rules which exhibit a superior 
knowledge of human nature, illustrating the duty of 
man to his fellow-man and to his God. These rules were 
afterward merged into the " Philosophical Society." 
Among these rules, which contain sentiments of uni- 
versal charity, benevolence, and good-will to men, was 
one for the suppression of intemperance, constituting a 
prophetic prelude to the exertions of subsequent times 
in regard to this noble cause. 

A devoted student, he made such progress in intel- 
lectual culture, that he became master of the Latin, 
Italian, French, and Spanish languages. Through his 
exertions, a small library was commenced by the Junto, 
which constituted the nucleus of the present large 
collection in the city of Philadelphia. He wrote and 
published a highly valuable and interesting pamphlet 
on the subject of banks and banking, and the necessity 
of a paper currency, together with essays on various 
subjects of practical importance. His genius was not 
of that kind which spends itself on creations of the 
beautiful, as exhibited in works of art, where orna- 
ment alone is the end; but he was rather a genius 
whose vast powers were directed to those creations 
which may be denominated useful. In addition to his 
being the father and patron of the Philosophical Society, 
the Pennsylvania University and Hospital, he originated 
most of the great enterprises in the city and province at 
that time. He improved the mechanic arts, bringing 
to their aid philosophy, chemistry, and the various 



278 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

combinations of science, economy, and the laws of na- 
ture. He improved chimneys, constructed a stove 
which still bears his name, and proposed many useful 
and economical inventions in domestic concerns, from 
the cellar to the garret, from the plow to the mill ; 
in fine, he was a thoroughly practical man, not wasting 
his energies in futile attempts at perpetual motions and 
other impracticable speculations, but in the elaboration 
of plans and principles susceptible of a practical appli- 
cation. Science bowed to him as a master-spirit; the 
arts hailed him as their patron; he was the father of 
American literature ; and the very lightnings of heaven, 
hitherto uncontrollable, obeyed his magic rod, and 
darted from their battery in the skies obedient to his 
will. 

Such was his devotion to the Masonic Institution — 
being the Grand Master for the State — that his parents 
(particularly his mother) became fearful that his 
connection therewith would hinder his usefulness and 
retard his popular fame, which was increasing and 
spreading all over the land. Impressed with such 
fears, his father wrote him on the subject, inquiring, 
on his mother's behalf, into the nature of the Society 
about which she had heard so many strange and won- 
derful stories, but which she did not believe. The 
following is Franklin's answer to those inquiries : 

Philadelphia, April 13, 1738. 
As to the Freemasons, I know of no way of giving my mother a 
better account of them than she seems to have at present, since it is 
not allowed that women should "be admitted into that secret society. 
She has, I must confess, on that account, some reason to be displeased 
with it} but, for any thing else, I must entreat her to suspend her 



BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 279 

judgment till she is better informed : unless she will believe me when 
I assure her that they are, in general, a very harmless sort of peo- 
ple, and have no principles or practices that are inconsistent with 
religion and good manners. 

In 1744 he was chosen by his fellow-citizens to repre- 
sent them in the Assembly, and continued a member of 
that body for a period of ten consecutive years. Though 
never regarded as an eloquent speaker, yet his concep- 
tions of correct legislation were so clear, that what he 
did say always had great weight ; and his influence as 
a statesman was, perhaps, more powerfully felt than that 
of any of his compeers. Notwithstanding he devoted 
his attention to those duties connected with his office as 
a legislator, he did not, by any means, neglect his favor- 
ite studies as a philosopher. When not engaged in the 
halls of legislation, he explored the fields of experi- 
mental philosophy, and brought to light many of those 
mysterious phenomena which had been locked up in the 
arcana of nature. His discoveries in electricity were, 
of themselves, sufficient to have given immortality to 
his name; but he stopped not after having extracted 
the lightning from the clouds, with which he was enabled 
to kill animals and fire magazines : he extracted magnet- 
ism from the earth, and imparted its mysterious power 
to metals. He did what the Almighty intimated to 
Job was beyond his power, when he said : " Canst thou 
send lightning, that they may go and say unto thee, 
Here we are?" Elaborating his principles, the light- 
nings have already been taught to speak as flashes of 
thought, nation to nation. 

In 1753 he was sent by the Government to Carlisle, 
Pennsylvania, to conclude a treaty with the Indians. In 



280 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

the year following he was elected delegate to the Con- 
gress of Commissioners which met at Albany, to devise 
means of defense against the anticipated hostilities of 
the French and savages. On the decease of the Deputy 
Postmaster- General of America, he was appointed to 
fill the vacancy, and raised that department from 
embarrassment to a fruitful source of revenue to the 
Crown. Difficulties arising between the proprietaries 
and government of the province of Pennsylvania, and 
their being referred for adjustment to the mother 
country, he was sent to England by the province to 
guard its interests. These difficulties being amicably 
settled, in 1762, he returned, after which he was vari- 
ously employed in regulating the Post-office Department, 
making treaties with the Indians, and devising means 
of defense on the frontiers. New troubles arising be- 
tween the proprietaries and the Assembly in 1764, he 
was again sent to England, with instructions to have 
the proprietary authority entirely abolished. "While 
there, the plan for taxing the colonies was matured, 
which he boldly opposed at the threshold, and such 
were his declarations in favor of liberty and independ- 
ence, that he was arraigned to answer numerous ac- 
cusations brought against him on that ground. "When 
brought before the House of Commons to undergo a 
public examination, he showed himself fully adequate 
to the task, confounding his enemies by the fearlessness 
of his manner, the clearness and force of his arguments, 
by which he put to silence every accusation, and, to the 
admiration of all, defended the rights and interests of 
his native country. He remained in England eleven 
years as the a^ent of the colonies, opposing the en- 



BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 281 

croachments of British tyranny upon the rights of 
Americans, and successfully resisted the combined influ- 
ence of intrigue, flattery, and malice. Understanding 
well the corruptions of court and the artifices of diplo- 
macy, he never once bowed the knee to Baal or kissed 
the hand of a monarch. His services being needed at 
home, and the difficulties between the mother country 
and the colonies increasing to such an extent as to 
render it unsafe for him to remain, in May, 1775, he 
returned to Philadelphia, where he was received with 
great enthusiasm, and immediately elected to the Con- 
tinental Congress. So dissatisfied were the colonists 
in regard to the high-handed usurpations of the British 
Crown, that the crisis was evidently rapidly approach- 
ing, when it would be necessary to throw off all allegi- 
ance. Franklin had much to do in shaping the course 
of events; and believing that God would defend the 
right, though they were weak in numbers and resources, 
he firmly resolved to bide the issue, preferring an hon- 
orable death to an inglorious freedom. 

The disasters of the American army during the cam- 
paign of 1777 induced Congress to apply to France for 
aid, and all eyes were turned to Franklin as the man 
to execute this important mission. Accordingly, in Oc- 
tober of the above-named year, he embarked for France, 
and succeeded in concluding a treaty of alliance with 
that nation on the 4th of February, 1778. When the 
news of this treaty reached England, the British min- 
istry were much alarmed, and dispatched messengers 
to Paris to induce Franklin to enter into a compromise 
with Great Britain. The terms were so contempti- 
ble that Franklin did not even communicate them 
24 



282 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

to Congress. To the minister who came to him with 
the olive-branch of peace, he replied : " I never think 
of your ministry and their abettors but with the image 
strongly painted in my view of their hands red and 
dripping with the blood of my countrymen, friends and 
relations. No peace can be signed with those hands 
unless you drop all pretensions to govern us, meet us 
on equal terms, and avoid all occasions of future dis- 
cord." Through all the storm of war Franklin stood 
firm at his post, ready for every emergency, and no 
one can calculate the value of his counsels to the na- 
tion in the critical period of the Revolution. At length, 
however, the colonists proved successful, and Great 
Britain was obliged to comply with the terms of an 
honorable peace, and acknowledge the independence of 
America in a definitive treaty of peace, concluded at 
Paris on the 3d of September, 1783. 

Franklin was still continued in Paris until 1785,' 
during which time he concluded treaties of commerce 
between the United States and the kings of Sweden and 
Prussia, and when the time for his departure for home 
arrived, every mark of respect was paid him by kings, 
courts, and literati; he was beloved by the millions, 
and his departure was regretted by all classes of society. 
At the advanced age of eighty, borne down by the toil 
of years, he returned to Philadelphia, where he was 
hailed with the greatest enthusiasm and veneration by 
all the friends of liberty, from the humblest citizen up 
to the illustrious Washington. To the American Israel 
he was as the pillar of cloud by day, and the pillar of 
fire by night. " He snatched the thunderbolt from Jove, 
and the scepter from kings;" he stood the Colossus of 



BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 283 

Liberty among the monarchs of Europe, and wrung 
from them the homage due to a nation that dared to 
be free. Though advanced beyond the ordinary years 
allotted to active life, he was elected Governor of Penn- 
sylvania, and in 1787 was chosen a delegate to the Con- 
vention that formed the Federal Constitution, and that 
instrument bears the mark of his master hand. 

Early in the year 1790, Dr. Franklin was confined, 
by increasing infirmities, to his room; but, though his 
body was wasting away under the decays of time, his 
mental powers retained their vigor, and to him was 
given to enjoy a green old age. With an intellect clear 
as that of an angel's, though encased with the totter- 
ing fabric of mortality, his thoughts flashed out with 
their wonted brilliancy, and some of the strongest and ' 
most soul-stirring productions of his pen were written 
during his confinement. He was conscious that he was 
nearing the terminus of his journey. 

" A solemn murmur in his soul 
Told of the world to be, 
As travelers hear the billows roll 
Before they reach the sea." 

The time of his departure at length arrived, and on 
the 17th of April, 1790, with calm and quiet resigna- 
tion to the will of Heaven, he sank into that sleep which 
knows no waking, until eternity's bright morn should 
break the slumbers of the world, and wake to life the 
dead. 

Of the numerous monuments erected to perpetuate 
the memory of the great Philosopher, the most beautiful 
and appropriate is in Boston, his native city. It was 



284 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

inaugurated on the 17th of September, 1856, with all 
the pomp and ceremony becoming the city, and the 
illustrious man whose fame it was designed to com- 
memorate. It is a bronze statue, standing on a beau- 
tiful pedestal in Court Square. Each of the four sides 
of the pedestal is ornamented with bas-reliefs, com- 
memorating events in the life of Dr. Franklin. The 
statue is the work of that distinguished artist, R. L. 
Greenough, Esq. The inauguration of the statue was 
a great event in Boston, and deemed of sufficient im- 
portance to justify the committee in the publication of 
a large octavo volume of four hundred pages, detailing 
all the facts, and descriptive of the ceremonies. From 
that work we copy the following description of the 
statue : 

" The statue is eight feet in hight, and is cast in 
bronze, of a rich, golden color. Franklin is represented 
in the costume of the age in which he lived, the dress 
being modeled from that belonging to the Massachu- 
setts Historical Society, and which was worn by the 
great original while at the Court of France, and has 
the appearance of being trimmed with fur, a kind of 
ornament very much used by Franklin in his advanced 
life. The attitude of the figure is easy, and yet exhib- 
its a firm and manly form. Under the left arm is held 
a continental hat, while the right hand holds a rep- 
resentation of the old crab-tree walking-stick which 
Franklin bequeathed to Washington, with such honor- 
able mention, in his last will. The foundation of the 
statue is from the picture of Duplessis, the form and 
lineaments of the head and face being taken from the 
original bust by Houdon, once the valued property of 



BENJAMIN FKANKLIN. 285 

Jefferson, but now, by the gift of Joseph Coolidge, Esq., 
one of the choice treasures of the Boston Atheneum. 
The expression of the face is singularly placid and be- 
nignant, while at the same time it is thoughtful and 
dignified, and seemingly unconscious of the public gaze. 
The personification of the great original is not so much 
that of the renowned statesman and practical philoso- 
pher, as of the man and citizen, in the simple repose of 
virtue and honesty, bearing the marks of true mental 
greatness. The base of the bronze which supports the 
statue has cut upon its western face the words ' R. 
S. Greenough, fecit,' and upon the easterly face an 
inscription denoting that the cast was made by the 
Ames Manufacturing Company of Chicopee. 

u The statue stands upon a beautiful pedestal, wrought 
from verd-antique marble, and supported upon a gran- 
ite basement, both designed by Henry Greenough, Esq., 
a brother of the artist of the statue. 

" The basement upon which the pedestal is placed is 
formed of two blocks of massive Quincy granite. The 
lower or foundation-stone is about seve# feet square, 
and the upper about six feet square; both together 
being four and one-half feet in hight. The four faces 
of the granite have the following inscriptions : 

"On the south side, fronting School Street — 

"BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, 

" Born in Boston, 17 January, 1706. 

" Died in Philadelphia, 17 April, 1790. 

" On the north side, fronting the City Hall — 

" Eripuit Coelo Fulmen Sceptrumque Tyrannis. 



286 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

" On the east side — 

" Declaration of American Independence, 
4 July, 1775. 

"And on the west side — 

" The Treaty of Peace and Independence, 
3 September, 1783. 

" The pedestal, which stands upon the granite base- 
ment, is constructed in three parts, neatly jointed with 
each other, and secured together by strong cement. 
The material is verd-antique marble, and was ob- 
tained from the quarries in the town of Roxbury, in 
the State of Vermont. The base measures four feet 
six and one-half inches square, and one foot in hight, 
and is composed of several members — plinth, torus, fil- 
let, and cavetto, the latter connecting it with the die. 
The die is four feet square, horizontally measured, and 
three feet and six inches in hight ; and it contains on 
each of its four faces a sunken panel, for four bronze bas- 
reliefs. These bas-reliefs represent prominent scenes 
in the life and public career of Franklin : the one in 
front exhibits Franklin at his press; the one in the 
back panel shows Franklin and his kite, drawing elec- 
tricity from the clouds; the one in the eastern panel 
represents Franklin signing the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence; and the fourth one represents Franklin sign- 
ing the definitive treaty of peace and independence 
with Great Britain. The cap measures four feet eight 
and one-half inches on each of its four sides, and one 
foot in hight, and is composed of fillet, ovolo, facia, 
apophyges, and fillet, forming the abacus, six inches 



BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 287 

high ; and a flat chamfer above the abacus, united by 
a quick curve, at a depth of thirteen and one-quarter 
inches, to a shaft two feet and six inches square, for 
the base of the statue, takes up the remaining six 
inches. The connecting joints of the three parts of the 
pedestal are above the fillet of the cap, and below the 
fillet of the base, thereby making it necessary that 
these fillets should be raised in the stone of which the 
die is formed, and with which they are connected by 
graceful curves. The abacus is exactly of the same 
size as the fillets, (three-quarters of an inch,) and 
shows, with them, the high finish and cohesive quality 
of the marble. The whole hight of the pedestal is five 
feet and six inches. The verd-antique used for its 
construction weighed about twelve tons when taken 
from the quarry, and about ten tons when worked. 

" The basement and pedestal occupy about ten feet in 
hight; the whole elevation of the statue, with its sup- 
port, is about eighteen feet." 

We have thus rapidly sketched some of the more 
prominent outlines of character of this great and good 
man, the incidents connected with which are highly in- 
structive to all; and though we have not been permitted, 
in consequence of the want of material, to give the ma- 
sonic reader much that pertained to his masonic life, 
still we trust what we have given will be regarded as a 
monument of great value to the Fraternity through all 
time to come. Indeed, the wonder with us is, not that 
we have so few incidents connected with his masonic 
life, but that we have so many. It is a remarkable 
fact, that, notwithstanding his industry, and the mul- 
tiplicity of pursuits which have made him the wonder 



288 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

and praise of the world, he did not excuse himself 
from masonic duties. Situated as he was, in the largest 
city, at that time, in America, driven to exertion both 
by his own personal business and the affairs of that 
public who believed that no plan could prosper which 
had not his sanction and his aid, besides the correspond- 
ence which his philosophical investigations obliged him 
to keep up, one can not but believe that he would, 
under the press of such circumstances, allow his seat, 
at least sometimes, to be vacant in the Lodge; but the 
duties of his masonic station were too important, in 
his estimation, to be suspended by any other considera- 
tion. It appears, from the minutes of the Order, that, 
during thirty years and upward, while he was Deputy 
Grand Master of Pennsylvania, he was rarely absent 
from a Lodge meeting. Two things may be inferred 
from this, both of which are strikingly illustrative of 
the character of the man, his economy of time, and his 
profound respect for the tenets of the Order. The first 
we know already, from proofs that will stand while the 
philosophy which his genius explained shall be remem- 
bered. The second has a lesson in it, not only to the 
world, but to every Mason. To the world, it admon- 
ishes the scoffer and suspicious to beware of speaking 
lightly of that secret Society which called for such 
punctuality from him, whose maxim was never to spend 
an hour in vain. It can not be supposed, even by the 
most uncharitable, that this great and good man would 
associate himself with any order of men whose moral 
tenets were dangerous to the peace of society, or whose 
political character was in the slightest degree detri- 
mental to the existence of a republican government. 



BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 289 

To the Mason, the example of this illustrious brother 
is a practical lesson of masonic duty, to which he will 
do well to take heed. 

Indeed, the whole life of Franklin was a practical 
application of the first principles of Masonry. His 
study was constantly to do good, and through all com- 
ing time, in the history of our country, posterity shall 
admire the noble edifice he aided to found, as the most 
perfect model ever presented to the architect, whose 
task it is to erect in his own mind a beautiful and in- 
tellectual temple, whose symmetry of form and har- 
mony of proportions fill all with admiration, and which 
shall last forever. 

As a specimen of Dr. Franklin's epistolary corre- 
spondence, terse and pointed as it always was, we give 
two of his letters. The first was written to Dr. Priest- 
ley, in 1775, soon after Dr. Franklin had returned from 
Europe : 

"All America is exasperated, and more firmly united than ever. 
Great Britain, I conclude, has lost her colonies forever. She is now 
giving us such miserable specimens, that we shall even detest and 
avoid it, as a complication of robbery, murder, famine, fire, and pes- 
tilence. If you flatter yourselves with beating us into submission, 
you know neither the people nor the county. You will have heard, 
before this reaches you, of the defeat of a great body of your troops 
by the country people at Lexington, of the action at Bunker's Hill, 
etc. Enough has happened, one would think, to convince your 
ministers that the Americans will fight, and that this is a harder 
nut to crack than they imagined. Britain, at the expense of three 
millions, has killed one hundred and fifty Yankees this cam- 
paign. During the same time sixty thousand children have been 
born in America. From these data the mathematical head of our 
dear good friend Dr. Price will easily calculate the time and ex- 
pense necessary to kill us all and conquer our whole territory. Tell 

?5 



290 MASONIC BIOGKAPHY. 

him, as he sometimes has his doubts and despondencies about our 
firmness, that America is determined and unanimous." 

The other is still more pointed, and is dated 

"Philadelphia, July, 1775. 
11 Mr. Strahan: You are a member of Parliament, and one of that 
majority which has doomed my country to destruction. You have 
begun to burn our towns, and murder our people. Look upon your 
hands — they are stained with the blood of your relations ! You and 
I were long friends : you are now my enemy, and 

I am yours. B* Franklin." 



LA FAYETTE. 



LA FAYETTE. 



What American heart does not. throb with liveliest 
emotions of gratitude at the name of La Fayette? If 
the names of "Washington and Franklin are household 
words, inspiring with greater love and veneration than 
ever the Dii Penates of a Roman idolatry imparted to 
the inhabitants of the world-wide empire of the Cesars, 
the name of the patriot La Fayette is none the less 
worthy of veneration. These are not imaginary deities, 
or the apotheosis of heroes and warriors, in whom 
rage, revenge, and lust were the more prominent 
attributes, and who were thus regarded as the more 
commendable and worthy on that account; but they 
were living realities, and filled the country with their 
heroic and worthy deeds. 

On the 6th of September, 1757, over one hundred 
years ago, Gilbert Mottier de La Fayette was born, in 
the castle of Chavaniac, in Auvergne, France. His 
father was an officer in the French army, and bravely 
fell fighting for his country, at the battle of Minden, 
when Gilbert was in his infancy. Thus early bereft 

(293) 



294 MASONIC BIOGRArHY. 

of a father, lie was left to the care of a patriot mother, 
who instilled into his youthful mind a love of liberty 
and heroism which developed themselves in his after 
life, and secured for him a world-wide renown. At a 
very early period he gave evidence of talents of no 
ordinary character, and when only seven years of age 
he was placed in the college of Louis Le Grand, of* 
Paris. With the development of his intellect, under 
the mental discipline to which it was subjected, were 
collaterally exhibited those traits of character which 
invariably secure to their possessor the esteem of all 
with whom they are brought in contact. He had 
great modesty and, urbanity of manners, connected 
with a benevolence of heart, which prompted him 
to seek the welfare of all within his reach. He 
passed successfully and brilliantly through the college 
course, and graduated at an early age. The first po- 
sition he occupied in society was that of page to the 
Queen, from which he rose to the rank of a commis- 
sioned officer in the French army, an honor, at that 
time, only conferred upon those who possessed superior 
talent and distinguished merit. 

These distinctions were gained by him before he had 
reached his seventeenth year, about which time he en- 
tered into a matrimonial alliance with the Countess 
Anastasia de Noalless, one of the most accomplished 
and beautiful women of France. It was a happy union 
of kindred spirits, admirably formed by nature and 
education for ministering to each other's happiness. 
To the wealth of their affections was added a worldly 
affluence, which, though it possess not the power to 
confer happiness, is, nevertheless, wonderfully capable 



LA FAYETTE. 295 

of augmenting earthly bliss. They came not suddenly 
up, by some adventurous speculation or freak of fortune, 
into a princely style of life for which they were un- 
fitted by taste, education, and habit; but they entered 
with grace and dignity the gayest court in Europe, the 
favorites of all, and the proudest and brightest orna- 
ments of every circle in which they moved. 

Surrounded, as he was, with all the endearments of 
society, every thing combining to render him happy, 
nothing but the profoundest love of liberty, the loftiest 
patriotism, and purest philanthropy, manifesting itself 
in a regard for the cause of human rights and a uni- 
versal brotherhood, could have severed the silken bonds 
which bound him to country and home. In the midst 
of all the fascinating allurements by which he was 
surrounded, he heard the trumpet of freedom as its 
clear, shrill notes came sounding over the waters from 
the distant western world. The stern struggles of the 
American colonies in their efforts to resist British ag- 
gression and tyranny, and the self-sacrificing devotion 
which characterized the patriots of the Revolution, in- 
spired La Fayette with an admiration and zeal for their 
cause, which prompted him at once to espouse it, and 
he made a proposition to the American Commissioners 
then in Paris> to enter the army of Washington. 

Franklin and his associates could offer him no in- 
ducements in the way of emolument ; indeed, anxious as 
they were to secure the services of the young French 
officer, they could not even afford him the means of 
conveyance to the scene of action. No obstacles of 
this kind, however, had any effect in deterring him 
from enlisting in the cause of freedom, and accordingly 



296 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

he fitted out a vessel, and freighted it with munitions 
of war and clothing, at his own expense. Having got 
all things in readiness for departure, and having re- 
ceived letters of recommendation from the Commis- 
sioners to the Congress of their country, he embarked, 
secretly, for the land of the free and home of the 
brave, in the winter of 1777. 

He had already become a member of the Masonic 
Fraternity, and had frequently met with Franklin in 
the Lodge. Like Washington, he had in early life 
identified himself with the Masonic Fraternity, and his 
attachment grew with his years. He had, doubtless, 
heard with no small degree of satisfaction that Wash- 
ington and many of his generals were members of the 
ancient and honorable Order; and while he was going 
to assist in the vindication of the cause of human 
freedom, he was also about to identify himself with a 
brotherhood whose motto is " Universal Philanthropy, 
Belief, and Truth." 

Early in the spring of 1777, his vessel landed at 
Charleston, South Carolina, and he and his companions 
were warmly welcomed by General Moultrie, Major 
Huger, and the little band of veterans around them. 
Timely was his arrival with a supply of clothing for 
the destitute soldiers; and, as he distributed to each, 
and gave a sword to every officer, he realized, in his 
own generous and magnanimous nature, a thrill of joy 
which all the trappings of royalty could not impart. 
From Charleston he hastened to Philadelphia, and de- 
livered his letters and dispatches from the Commis- 
sioners to Congress. He offered himself as a volunteer, 
desiring to enter the army without any remuneration 



LA FAYETTE. 297 

except that connected with the high and ennobling 
satisfaction of enrolling his name with the heroic band 
who had pledged for liberty "their lives, their fortunes, 
and their sacred honors." In July following, Congress 
passed an act accepting his services, and gave him a 
commission as Major- General of the Continental army. 
With this rank, which he so richly deserved, and which 
he so heroically sustained to the end of his brilliant 
career, he placed himself under the command of Wash- 
ington. 

It was not long until he was afforded an opportunity 
to display hi3 skill and bravery on the field of battle; 
and the battle of Brandywine, where he was wounded 
and disabled for weeks, will forever tell of his heroic 
achievements. Again, we find him in the battle of 
German town, the same brave and skillful officer. Such 
was the confidence his courage and skill inspired in 
Washington, that he was selected by him to lead sev- 
eral most daring and hazardous expeditions, in all of 
which he gave the most entire satisfaction to Washing- 
ton, and, also, to Congress. In times of greatest trial, 
when the aspect of things was the most gloomy and, 
disheartening, and it seemed as though the fortunes of 
war would turn on the enemy's side, and this fair land 
be given over to the hand of oppression, La Fayette 
never for a moment faltered. He stood like a rock in 
the midst of the ocean, against which the angry surges 
dashed in vain* He had embarked all in the struggle 
for independence; and with him there was no other 
choice than to see the end of the contest for freedom. 

There is an incident connected with La Fayette, at 
the battle of Brandywine, which is worthy of record. 



298 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

A broad-shouldered, brawny Scotch brother, by the 
name of Andrew Wallace, was a soldier in the Ameri- 
can army on that eventful day. He was devotedly at- 
tached to his young French commander, La Fayette — ■ 
not only because La Fayette was a patriot and a hero, 
but the mystic bonds of Masonry bound them to each 
other by enduring ties. During the confusion conse- 
quent upon the partial repulse of the American arms, 
the soldier, Wallace, found his beloved commander and 
brother wounded and bleeding, and unable, without 
assistance, to escape capture by the enemy. It has 
been said that "love feels no load." Wallace was a 
giant in strength, and, without hesitation, he picked up 
his wounded officer as though he had been a child, and 
bore him upon his shoulders two miles, to a place of 
safety. We have seen the portrait of Bro. Wallace, 
published in 1835. He was then one hundred and five 
years of age, and was wearing a P. Master's jewel. 
The record of his achievement in saving La Fayette on 
the occasion referred to is printed beneath the portrait. 
Such was Masonry on the battle-fields of the American 
^Revolution. 

When the struggle became so doubtful that it was 
difficult for the most sagacious observer to tell on which 
side the scale would turn, La Fayette, with a view of 
reinforcing the army, returned to France for volunteers. 
His labors were successful, and in July, 1780, France 
sent a naval force to the rescue. La Fayette was 
placed in command of the expedition against Lord Corn- 
wallis, in Virginia. Here he found his troops in a for- 
lorn condition, without, food or clothing, and without 
hope of obtaining any from Congress. In this sad con- 



LA FAYETTE. 299 

dition, he borrowed money from merchants in Baltimore 
on his own credit, and appealed to the fair daughters 
of the Monumental City, who responded most nobly to 
the call by plying the needle in making up garments 
for the soldiers, who were soon comfortably clad. 

"When all things were in readiness, La Fayette took 
the field with his army against the veteran British 
General Cornwallis. On the 20th of* September, 1781, 
a siege was commenced, and the result was a victory 
achieved over the proud forces of Great Britain. This 
signal victory decided the fate of the colonies, and 
shortly after the renowned General, whose skill and 
courage were worthy of a better cause, surrendered his 
whole army to the illustrious Washington and the 
brave La Fayette. Several nations promptly acknowl- 
edged the independence of the United States. The 
ensigns of royalty were banished from our shores, and 
the Stars and Stripes waved triumphantly over the land 
of the brave and free. An admiring world looked upon 
the heroic achievements of these sons of freedom, and 
their names became the watchword of liberty to all 
who were struggling for human rights in every land. 

After serving in the American army for a period of 
six years, and having expended in that time one hund- 
red and forty-seven thousand dollars in the glorious 
cause, he made preparation to return to his own coun- 
try. On his departure he received the highest tokens of 
respect from Congress, the officers of the army, and the 
nation at large. The success which had crowned the 
efforts of the American people in throwing off the Brit- 
ish yoke was felt upon the nations of Europe, and none 
felt its influence more than the people of France. The 



300 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

whole French, army became inspired with the spirit of 
freedom, and they resolved to be free; but, unfortu- 
nately, such is the crushing and stunning influence of 
a monarchy, that they could only embrace the abstract 
principles of liberty, and not having learned the prin- 
ciples of self-government, they were wholly unprepared 
for such a state. The excitement was up, and it was 
impossible to resist its power. The people, wild with 
the idea of liberty, rushed madly on, and so threaten- 
ing became the aspect of affairs, that the States Gen- 
eral Assembly, which had slumbered for years, was 
convened for the purpose of arresting the insurrection. 
This Assembly consisted of deputies chosen by the no- 
bility, clergy, and common people. So terrific was the 
storm of passion which swept over the nation, that this 
august body trembled like a reed shaken by the wind. 
Anarchy mounted its desolating car, mad ambition 
reared its crested front, and Jacobinism put on its 
dreadful power. Civil war raged; the guillotine did 
its bloody work; and revenge and cruelty only ceased 
for want of victims wherewith to glut its rage. Amid 
this scene of carnage and death, La Fayette stood calm 
and undismayed. He commanded the military, and 
had the confidence of the entire soldiery. At one word 
of command he could have cut off the cold-hearted 
Bobespierre, the cruel Mirabeau, the treacherous Duke 
of Orleans, the ambitious Paine, and the bloody Marat. 
But the companion of Washington had learned to rise 
above revenge and cruelty, and to practice humanity. 
By his calm and fearless course he succeeded so far in 
controlling the storm as to give to France a constitu- 
tion approximating republicanism. The nation was not 



LA FAYETTE. 301 

ready for any form of government short of monarchy, 
and the result was that all the efforts of this dis- 
tinguished friend of liberty were lost in the crazy 
whirl of Jacobinism. He resisted the intriguing plans 
of his enemies and the enemies of France, with manly 
courage to the last ; and in the National Assembly he 
tore the mask from the hideous form of anarchy and 
wild ambition, and in the most overwhelming manner 
convinced all minds, not prejudiced, of the destructive 
measures of the opposite party. When he had finished 
his address, he withdrew, and taking command of his 
army, he marched against the Austrian Netherlands. 
But, no sooner had he departed than, coward-like, the 
Assembly proscribed him, and put a price upon his 
head. Finding that it would be impossible to stem the 
angry tide which was setting in so strongly against 
him, he resolved to flee to the United States. In his 
flight he fell into the hands of the Prussians, who de- 
livered him over to the Austrians, and after being sub- 
jected to every indignity and insult, he was thrown 
into a loathsome dungeon at Olmutz, where a bed of 
rotten straw, an old table, and a broken chair consti- 
tuted the furniture of his wretched apartment. While 
in this prison he suffered great tortures of body and 
mind; his estate was confiscated by the Jacobins, and 
his amiable and beloved wife cast into prison. En- 
gland, the United States, and several other govern- 
ments, looked upon the imprisonment of La Fayette 
as a violation of the laws of nations, of common justice 
and humanity. Washington and many others made 
great exertions to obtain his release, but the Emperor 
of Austria was inexorable. A bold but unsuccessful 



302 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

attempt was made to rescue him by Colonel Huger and 
Dr. Ballman of South Carolina, whose thrilling exploits 
on that occasion are worthy of all praise. Such was 
the amiability and gentleness of Madame La Fayette, 
that even the bloodthirsty Jacobins were constrained 
to set her at liberty, and no sooner was she released 
than she hastened to the gloomy prison of her hus- 
band, determined to share his sad fate. With her two 
daughters she left France in disguise, and arrived safe 
at Olmutz. When she made application to see her 
husband, it was only granted on condition that she 
should never be permitted to leave the prison after 
entering within its gloomy walls. 

Who has ever known the heart of woman to fail 
when the object of her love is in peril? This noble 
woman did not hesitate for a moment to comply with 
the merciless demand, and when the dungeon door 
rolled back on its grating hinges, the hard-hearted 
soldiers who guarded the prison witnessed a scene of 
deep affection, which caused them to weep like chil- 
dren. When she entered, all she could utter, as she 
clasped the companion of her youth in her arms, was, 
My loved husband! while the expression, My dear 
father ! burst from the sobbing hearts of his affection- 
ate daughters. That scene can never be portrayed by 
pencil or pen. Madame De Stael, in alluding to it, 
said: " Antiquity offers nothing more admirable than 
the conduct of General La Fayette, his wife, and 
daughters, in the prison of Olmutz. 

Continued exertions were made in the Congress of 
the United States, and in the House of Commons in 
England, for the release of the prisoners, but nothing 



LA FAYETTE. 303 

could move the heart of the obdurate tyrant who held 
them, nor until the conquering Bonaparte humbled the 
proud and cruel Emperor did any ray of hope pierce the 
darkness of their dungeon. In accordance with the 
treaty at Campo Formio, in 1797, this patriotic family 
were restored to liberty, after an imprisonment of five 
years. After tranquillity had in some measure been 
restored to France, La Fayette and his family returned 
to the land of their birth. He located at La Grange, 
and soon inspired, by his demeanor, the respect and 
confidence of all who were around him. Ever ready 
to promote the welfare of his own people, he engaged 
in every undertaking calculated to bring about such a 
result; and showing himself at all times the friend of 
humanity, he presented to the world a model of benevo- 
lence and open-hearted, unselfish kindness, which every 
philanthropist would do well to imitate. He had not 
lost his power over the French people by his proscription 
and imprisonment, as was fully evinced at the memor- 
able three days' revolution of 1830. He exerted at 
that fearful crisis an almost magic power over the 
excited multitude. In the short period of seventy-two 
hours he restored tranquillity, formed a new govern- 
ment, and commenced a new era in the history of that 
wild and impulsive nation. He could then have been 
crowned King of France, but, like the illustrious 
"Washington, to him crowns were empty baubles, airy 
phantoms, formed to allure for a time, and then vanish 
in abdication, chaos, or blood. 

All will recollect with what enthusiasm his visit to 
this country was hailed, in 1824. The whole land 
kept jubilee at his arrival, and his course through the 



304 MASONIC BIOGKAPHY. 

country was marked everywhere with demonstrations 
of joy and rejoicing. He was the man whom all de- 
lighted to honor. In every crowd he sought his sur- 
viving companions in arms, who had fought and bled 
by his side in the glorious cause of American Inde- 
pendence. 

At Elizabethtown, New Jersey, Bro. La Fayette was 
publicly received by the Grand Lodge of the State. 
Bro. J. B. Munn was the Grand Master, and convened 
the Grand Lodge to meet the distinguished visitor on 
the occasion of his visit to Elizabethtown. Bro. Munn 
reported the proceedings at the next annual meeting 
of the Grand Lodge, in 1824, from the archives of 
which we make the following extract: 

"On the 23d day of September last, pursuant to an 
invitation from "Washington Lodge, No. 41, at Eliza- 
bethtown, I repaired to that place, in order, with them 
and the brethren invited, to meet our illustrious brother, 
La Fayette. On this occasion I have much pleasure in 
acknowledging the support and aid received by the 
presence of P. G. M. Bro. Giles, also the J. G. Warden, 
Bro. Darcy, the M. E. C, Bro. Ruckle, the W. Master, 
Bros. Tucker, Parsons, Little, Babbitt, and Ailling, of 
the Essex Lodges, and the members present. Bro. 
La Fayette and his escort alighted at the end of a 
lengthy procession of different Lodges, ready formed 
to receive him whenever he arrived; when, accompa- 
nied by the Governor of this State, Bros. Jonathan 
Dayton and Colonel T. T. Kinney, they walked through 
the open ranks of the procession to an elevated plat- 
form, arranged for the occasion, where he was received 
by the municipal authorities of the town, after which, 



LA FAYETTE. 305 

on a signal being given, attended by the Past Grand 
Master, Bro. Giles, the J. G. Warden, Bro. Darcy, and 
Bro. Kuckle, we proceeded through the line of the 
procession to the platform, where, on meeting our dis- 
tinguished brother, I addressed him as follows: 

11 ' Bro. La Fayette : It is my fortunate lot at this 
time to have the pleasure to meet and address you in 
behalf of my masonic brethren of New Jersey. With 
sentiments of ardent gratitude for illustrious services 
you have rendered us toward achieving our national 
independence, and particularly impressed with feelings 
of fraternal affection, we tender you a sincere welcome 
to our country. 

" ' While the offerings of real respect and applause, 
and the spontaneous effusions of a delighted people 
greet you wheresoever you advance among us, we pre- 
sume to offer you the deep veneration, the warm affec- 
tion and friendship of your masonic brethren, inferior 
to none in ardor and sincerity. This happy meeting is 
to us an event of great importance ; it is a day which 
we, our children, remote posterity, and more especially 
the Masonic Fraternity, will hereafter delight to call 
up in pleasing recollection. We hail it as auspicious to 
our Order; for, although superstition, prejudice, and 
persecution have frequently spent their whole powers 
upon us, nevertheless it is our consolation to know that 
many of the truly great and good in every age have 
been our supporters. 

" i In times past, particularly in the American Re volu- 
tion, among hosts of worthies devoted to the cause of 
liberty, long since gone to that bourne from whence no 
traveler returns, and who so gloriously and successfully 
26 



306 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

contributed to establish the freedom of millions, we hail 
as brothers and illustrious ornaments in our Temple 
the incomparable Washington, Warren, the martyr of 
liberty, and Franklin, the benefactor of mankind. La 
Fayette, a living monument of greatness, virtue, and 
faithfulness, still exists. Brethren, a second Washington 
is now among us. Let us celebrate the event with 
heartfelt joy. Among the archives of Masonry let the 
transaction of this day be recorded and deposited, that 
a surviving hero of our Revolution has now met with 
us on the level of true affection, and on the square of 
first equality; that it is our highest happiness not only 
to greet him as the undeviating advocate for the liber- 
ties of mankind, but also by the endearing tie of friend 
and brother.' " 

The Grand Master then, on behalf of Washington 
Lodge, No. 41, presented the illustrious visitor with a 
jewel, as a token of respect and brotherly affection, and 
affectionately placed it upon his breast. 

The address of welcome and the beautiful memento 
of regard were received by La Fayette in a neat and 
appropriate address, after which he presented his hand 
with affectionate regard to each of the brethren present. 
Such was his reception by the Craft in New Jersey ; so 
was he received by all and everywhere. 

While in the United States he visited many of the 
Lodges, and reunited with his brethren in the solemn 
and impressive ceremonies of the ancient Order. When 
Washington was living, he had sent a masonic dress, 
made by the hands of Madame La Fayette, to his illus- 
trious brother. This dress consisted of a sash, collar, 
and apron. The color of the sash was crimson. It had 



LA FAYETTE. 307 

two large rosettes — one on the shoulder and the other 
at the side. The collar was made of the same ma- 
terial. The apron was of white silk, wrought and 
trimmed with broad gold fringe. The color of the 
sash and apron were peculiar to the Scotch rite Ma- 
sonry, to which it is said La Fayette belonged. When 
La Fayette visited the museum in Alexandria, where 
these interesting memorials are kept, he recognized the 
dress as that (to use his own words) " which he had 
sent as a present to his dear Bro. Washington," at the 
same time remarking that the dress was made by his 
beloved wife. The scene was represented by those pres- 
ent as one of profound and thrilling interest. While 
he spoke of the early associations connected with them, 
and dwelt upon the virtues of Washington and his 
compatriots as brethren, his feelings were wrought up 
to the highest pitch of excitement, and all hearts deeply 
participated in the moving scene. Subsequently, in a 
masonic procession, La Fayette appeared in the ma- 
sonic dress of Washington. 

Many Lodges, in various parts of the country, were 
constituted at the time of his visit, and have since borne 
the name of the illustrious La Fayette. While he was 
in Cincinnati he visited the Lodge, and " old La Fay- 
ette " of that city boasts of a name equaled only by that 
of Washington. Masonic records in New York show 
that he was made a R. A. Mason in this city, and that 
here also he received the Knight Templar degrees. 

We regret that we have so little historical data in 
regard to La Fayette as a Mason, yet we are happy to 
know that he belonged to the ancient and honorable 
Craft, and, on all occasions, in times of war and in times 



308 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

of peace, met his brethren upon the level, and parted 
from them upon the square. 

Congress remunerated La Fayette for his large ex- 
penditure of money in behalf of the nation, and when 
he left our shores to return no more, he left with the 
blessing and benedictions of the millions whom he had 
assisted in achieving their liberties. His useful and 
patriotic life, however, was drawing to a close. Nobly 
had he acted his part in the great drama, and when 
the time came for the scene to close, it found him 
calm, resigned, cheerful, and happy. With a firm 
hope in the glorious immortality that awaits the good 
in that house not made with hands, eternal in the 
heavens, he closed his earthly life on the 21st of May, 
1834. The pageant of his funeral was of the most im- 
posing character. He was a member of the Chamber 
of Deputies at the time of his decease. The marked 
attention and sincere sympathy of that body, the deep 
lamentations of the French and American people, the 
demonstrations of grief by every civilized nation on 
receiving intelligence of his death, all combined to show 
the high estimation in which he was held by the old and 
the new world. Long as the deeds of our patriot fathers 
shall be remembered, long as we cherish the recollec- 
tions of the soul-stirring events of the ^Revolution, long 
as America shall be free, and her glorious institutions 
shall be handed down from sire to son, from generation 
to generation, so long will the name of La Fayette, close 
by the side of that of the immortal Washington, be re- 
vered ; and in the battle-cry for liberty, which shall be 
heard coming up from the oppressed nations, it will 
prove a watchword to stir the soul of the struggling 
to noble deeds. 



ISEAEL PUTNAM. 



ISRAEL PUTNAM. 



It was a summer's day, more than a hundred years 
ago, when a plain, awkward country boy was wander- 
ing through the streets of Boston. It was the first 
time he had been in so large a town, and every thing 
was strange and new and wonderful to him. Dressed 
in coarse, homespun clothes, with no very decided 
fit, gawky in his manners, staring with ill-concealed 
wonder at the marvelous sights which met his eye, 
this boy soon attracted attention, more especially of 
the city boys. At length one of them, concluding to 
have some fun, (boys were then just as they are now,) 
began to annoy the country lad, whom he found, to 
his surprise, not quite so "green" as he had anticipated. 
The awkward boy bore the insults, for a season, very 
meekly; but, finally, the "game" in him was aroused, 
and he retorted with spirit. This only increased the 
ardor of his antagonist, who was twice his size, and 
taunting words were soon repaid with earnest blows. 
A fierce combat ensued, in which the rough, uncouth 
country boy soon vanquished his refined city antago 

(311) 



312 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

nist, and gave him a sound thrashing. It was a lesson 
for both, which, it is presumed, was not forgotten in 
after years. It infused into the one a greater hatred 
to oppression, and taught him his own capabilities of 
resistance; while the other was thereafter more careful 
how he insulted awkward boys, even though they were 
his inferiors in size. That country boy was Israel 
Putnam, afterward the famous partisan in the French 
and Indian wars, and one of "Washington's stout 
patriots throughout the war of the Eevolution. The 
boy already gave promise of the man. Israel Putnam 
was the eleventh in a family of twelve children, and 
was born in what is now Danvers, then a part of Salem, 
Massachusetts, on the 7th of January, 1718. From 
boyhood he was noted for his great physical strength 
and endurance, as well as his spirit of bold and manly 
independence. In his youth he had plenty of rough, 
hard work, which hardened his muscles, and fitted his 
compact iron frame for the rough usage of after-life. 
His education was very limited, and, intellectually, he 
had nothing to boast of but an abundance of good, 
hard, common sense, and a plain, practical apprehen- 
sion of duties and events. He grew up a fine specimen 
of the hardy New England country boy of the pe- 
riod of which we write — good-natured, but brave and 
manly; and, in physical exercises or athletic sports, 
such as leaping, wrestling, running, etc., he was the 
equal of any of his compeers, and almost always bore 
away the prize. 

When about twenty-one years of age he married 
and removed to Pomfret, Connecticut, where he bought 
and cultivated an extensive farm. Here his highest 



ISRAEL PUTNAM. 313 

ambition was to become a successful farmer, and secure 
a competency for the wife he had chosen, and a young 
and increasing family. It was not long until his well- 
known daring was called into requisition; and the op- 
portunity was afforded him of revealing those attributes 
of character which raised him afterward to the highest 
military position in New England, and connected his 
name and his deeds with the history of his country in 
all future years. The country was yet so new as not 
to be entirely free from wolves, which sometimes made 
sad havoc among the sheep of the Connecticut farmers. 
One, particularly, an old and rapacious she-wolf, was 
the pest of the neighborhood, and in one night de- 
stroyed about seventy of Putnam's sheep and goats. 
The ire of the stalwart farmer was roused, and he de- 
termined, in conjunction with his neighbors, to pursue 
the animal, without intermission, until they should 
succeed in destroying her. "Having followed her 
tracks over the snow for forty miles, to the banks of 
the Connecticut, and then back again to Pomfret, they 
discovered her den, and spent the whole day in fruitless 
efforts to suffocate the enemy with burning sulphur, 
straw, and brushwood, but all proved unavailing." The 
wolf was too secure in her rocky cavern, and she had 
had too much experience in war and strategy to ven- 
ture out in the face of hounds and huntsmen. It was 
now late at night, and the besiegers dare not leave 
their post at the mouth of the den, for their enemy 
would certainly escape before morning. Putnam, 
therefore, determined to bring the issue to the "wager 
of battle," and close the campaign before he slept. He 
first proposed to his black servant to go into the cave 
27 



314 MASONIC BIOGEAPHY. 

and shoot the animal, but Africa shrunk from the 
dread encounter. To show that he did not desire 
others to undertake a hazard he was unwilling himself 
to risk, Putnam resolved to enter the cavern himself, 
and face his foe in deadly encounter, 

" Divesting himself of his coat and waistcoat, and 
having a long rope fastened about his legs, by which he 
might be pulled out at a concerted signal, he entered the 
cave head foremost, with a blazing torch, made of strips 
of birch bark, in his hand. He descended fifteen feet, 
passed along horizontally ten feet, and then ascended 
gradually some sixteen feet further.'' Proceeding cau- 
tiously to this point, and carefully examining the cav- 
ern as he advanced, he finally discovered the glaring 
eyes of the enraged animal, who seemed frantic at the 
sight of the torch and the approach of her natural 
enemy. Having fully ascertained the position of the 
animal, he gave the signal to be withdrawn, and was 
brought out by his friends in such haste as to inflict 
severe bruises upon his person. He now determined 
to go in for the death ; and, " loading his gun with nine 
buck-shot, he again entered the cave, with his gun in 
one hand and the torch in the other." Again ap- 
proaching the wolf, he found her wild with rage, and 
assuming an attitude to leap upon him. He immedi- 
ately took deliberate aim between her eyes, and fired. 
Hearing the explosion, those outside again drew him 
out, without delay or ceremony. Having rested a 
little, and loading his trusty gun again, he once more 
entered the cave. Finding the wolf prostrate, he 
applied the torch to her nose, when he discovered that 
his shot had been effective, and the animal was dead. 



ISRAEL PUTNAM. 315 

Seizing her by the ears, he gave the signal again, and 
Putnam and the wolf were drawn out together. There 
was great rejoicing over the fallen enemy, and her 
captor was at once the acknowledged hero of the 
neighborhood. It was, comparatively, an unimportant 
event; but the circumstances proved the metal of the 
man, and was the further developing of that daring 
which afterward made its mark on many a well-con- 
tested field, in fort and forest, where freedom was the 
prize, and Indians, French, and English were the foe. 

The above adventure occurred when Putnam was 
twenty-five years of age, and the succeeding twelve 
years were spent upon his farm; in which time, by 
industry and frugality, he had acquired considerable 
property, so that, when he gave up his farming and 
entered the army, he was enabled to leave his family 
well provided for in case of his death. 

In 1755 he was appointed by the Legislature captain 
of a company raised in his immediate neighborhood, 
and designed to serve as rangers on the frontiers, in 
the war against France and her Indian allies. " His 
first expedition was under Sir William Johnson against 
Crown Point." He continued in command of his rang- 
ers in 1756, and in the following year he was com- 
missioned as major. During these campaigns he had 
often been in imminent danger, and on one occasion 
escaped with twelve bullet-holes through his blanket. 
During the summer of 1758 he was engaged in that 
disastrous campaign when Fort William Henry, so 
bravely defended by Colonel Munroe against an over- 
whelming force of French and Indians, at last fell, and 
its garrison was inhumanly given up to slaughter. 



316 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

Putnam was at Fort Edward, and with his scouts was 
ordered to watch the enemy's movements. On the 
morning after that night of horrors, Putnam and his 
men issued from the adjoining forest and were early 
upon the scene of blood. The war-whoop had been 
hushed and the carnage ended, for there were no more 
victims. The scene which presented itself was harrow- 
ing to the feelings of these rough but noble forest 
rangers. "More than a hundred women lay scattered 
around, their arms flung out upon the cold ground, 
and their long tresses streaming around their cloven 
skulls and over their gashed bosoms. Putnam stood 
and gazed on the scene with the emotions a brave man 
must always feel when he thinks of the distress he 
could have prevented, but for the cowardice and selfish- 
ness of others." Putnam's commanding officer had re- 
quested permission of General Webb to go to the assist- 
ance of Colonel Munroe ; Putnam's rangers had promptly 
stepped out, anxious to be let loose upon the murdering 
savages ; but Webb refused — -an act which blotted his 
name with infamy forever. 

It was not long after, while a party of men were in 
the forest cutting timber to make some repairs upon 
the fort, that the command of Captain Little, stationed 
near for their protection, was attacked by a superior 
force of Indians. He was so hard pressed that his 
small force was in danger of being cut off by the sav- 
ages. Putnam was stationed with his rangers on an 
island near by, and so soon as he heard of Captain 
Little's danger, he and his men dashed through the 
water to the rescue. Having to pass near the fort, on 
their way to where the volleys told him the conflict 



ISRAEL PUTNAM. SI 7 

was raging, Putnam was hailed by the cowardly com- 
manding officer, and ordered to stop. Putnam declared 
he would not, and rushed forward to the rescue. His 
charge upon the enemy was a bold and resistless one, 
and the forest warriors gave way before the intrepid 
daring of the rangers. Gaptain Little and his strug- 
gling band were saved. Putnam had disobeyed the 
orders of his superior officer, but his conduct was never 
questioned afterward. 

During the following winter, the barracks near the 
fort took fire, and near them was the magazine, con- 
taining three hundred barrels of powder. The officer in 
command ordered the cannon to play on the barracks, 
with an intention to destroy them, and thus prevent 
the fire from spreading, but it was of no avail. Put- 
nam, with his men, was not far off, and hearing the 
alarm, rushed immediately to the fort. Comprehend- 
ing in a moment the whole peril of the case, he mounted 
the barracks, and ordered his men to form a line to the 
water and pass buckets to him. The water thus sup- 
plied he dashed upon the flames, but he made little 
progress in subduing them. He was compelled to stand 
so near the fire that his mittens were burned from his 
hands. Another pair, soaked in water, was handed 
him, and he continued his daring efforts. The com- 
manding officer, seeing his danger, ordered him down, 
but he again refused to obey. Finally the building 
began to crumble beneath him, when he leaped to the 
earth, placed himself between the flames and the mag- 
azine, and renewed his efforts. The heat was intense, 
and the sturdy major was often enveloped in smoke 
and cinders, but he would not yield. The planks cov- 



318 MASONIC BIOGEAPEY. 

ering the magazine were burned almost through, but 
still the heroic Putnam, standing within a few feet of 
the powder on one side, and an equal distance from 
the flames on the other, remained firmly at his post; 
and, after more than an hour of the most herculean 
effort, succeeded in subduing the flames and saving the 
magazine and fort. Such was Putnam. He knew no 
fear, shunned no danger, shirked no duty. "When 
patriotism and humanity called, he heard and followed, 
never pausing to count the foe or estimate the danger. 

Once more, on detached service, he was permitted to 
measure his strength with the enemy. Encamped on 
a high, projecting point near the lake, and covered by 
a stone wall and bushes, he waited the coming of the 
French. "When within range, Putnam opened with 
deadly effect upon the foe, and every shot from his 
rangers was echoed by the death-scream of an enemy. 
All night long he held the French in check, and at 
dawn retired before a greatly superior force, bringing 
his brave little command off in safety. 

Putnam afterward served in the unfortunate cam- 
paign under Abercrombie, designed to reduce Ticonde- 
roga, and was in the fierce battle where the English 
troops suffered so severely. As usual, he was in the 
thickest of the fight, but escaped unhurt, and aided, 
with his rangers, in covering the retreat of the army. 

At length, however, the star of Putnam waned, and 
for a season was obscured by defeat and capture. With 
two other officers and about five hundred men, he was 
watching the enemy at Ticonderoga, when he* was dis- 
covered and compelled to retire. On his way to Fort 
Edward he was attacked by a large body of French, 



ISRAEL PUTNAM. 319 

and Indians; his men were temporarily repulsed and 
himself captured. He was tied to a tree, which, in the 
fluctuations of the battle, was, for a time, exactly be- 
tween the contending forces. The balls from both par- 
ties flew about him like hailstones, striking the tree to 
which he was bound, and piercing his clothes; but he 
remained untouched, for he seemed to bear a charmed 
life. At length the enemy were obliged to retire, but 
they were careful to take their captive with them. 
His name had long been a terror to the Indians, and 
they regarded him as under the special protection of 
the " Great Spirit." While he had been bound to the 
tree, and the Provincials had yielded ground, a young 
Indian had, for amusement, tried his' skill in hurling 
the tomahawk, by trying how near he could throw it 
at Putnam's head without hitting him. The instru- 
ment of death would strike the tree very near him, 
but he again escaped death. A Frenchman, more brutal 
than the Indian, had attempted to shoot him, but his 
gun missed fire, and he then struck his victim over 
the head with the breech of the musket, which came 
near killing him. On the retreat, he was divested of 
his shoes and stockings, a load of plunder was strapped 
to his back, and, with his hands tied behind him, bleed- 
ing and suffering from the cowardly blow of the French- 
man, he was compelled to keep pace with his retreating 
captors. His powerful frame at length succumbed, 
and, completely exhausted, he begged them either to 
release or kill him. A French officer at last interposed, 
and compelled the Indians to relieve him of a part of 
his load, and give him moccasins for his feet. This hu- 
manity was soon succeeded by a blow from an Indian's 



320 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

tomahawk, which opened his cheek with a terrible gash. 
At night he was compelled to lie down on his back, 
with his hands and feet separately tied to as many 
trees, poles laid across his body, and a savage at each 
side of him. 

The prisoner was regarded as a great warrior, and 
his Indian captors resolved to burn him at the stake. 
He was, accordingly, stripped and bound to a tree, fag- 
gots were piled around him, and the fire kindled. Hope 
began to fail him, and he concluded his hour had come. 
But a heavy shower deadened the flames, and the fu- 
ture grew brighter. Again the fire was kindled, and 
again it was nearly extinguished by the rain. Scorched, 
blistered, and half dead from wounds and fatigue, with 
frantic savages dancing in wild glee around him, his con- 
dition was desperate; but just then the French com- 
mander, Molang, discovered his condition, and released 
him. He was, subsequently, conveyed as a prisoner to 
Montreal, where he was discovered by Colonel Schuyler, 
through whose influence he was finally exchanged, and 
once more returned to his family in Connecticut. 

In 1759 Putnam was made a lieutenant-colonel, and 
joined the army for the invasion of Canada. Under 
Amherst, he was at the capture of Ticonderoga and 
Crown Point, and continued in active service until the 
close of the war. When w T ar was declared against 
Spain, in 1762, an expedition was sent out against Ha- 
vana, in which Putnam commanded the Connecticut 
regiment, consisting of five hundred men. The vessel 
in which he sailed was wrecked near the shores of Cuba 
during a heavy storm ; but his men formed rafts of the 
masts and spars of the ship, and finally reached the 



ISRAEL PUTNAM. 321 

land in safety. Though the expedition was successful, 
the men melted away under the deleterious influence of 
the climate, and very few of the New England troops 
ever returned. Putnam's iron constitution enabled him 
to survive the ordeal, and he returned in safety to his 
family. By field and flood, through fire and bullets, he 
had passed unscathed, for Providence seemed reserving 
him to lead off in the unequal contest for freedom in 
which his own native land, in her poverty and sparse- 
ness, was yet to grapple with the most colossal power 
of Europe — and prevail. Soon after his return from 
the West Indies, he commanded a corps of Connecticut 
men in an expedition against the Indians of the border, 
and then he retired, after ten years of severe service, 
to his home in Connecticut. He had already passed the 
ordinary age for military service ; but his frame was in- 
durated by exposure and active service, and he was as 
strong and sinewy as most men of much younger years. 
His reputation, too, as a military man, was established 
as among the first in the colony ; and as a partisan of- 
ficer he had no equal for daring enterprise and hardy 
adventure. He at once resumed the culture of his 
farm, and added to it the keeping of a country tavern, 
expecting to pass the remainder of his days in the quiet 
of home, and in the possession of a competency secured 
by his own honest labors. In the interior, before the 
rupture with the mother country, he served several 
sessions in the Legislature of the State, and took an ac- 
tive interest in all public measures. 

The commencement of our difficulties with the 
mother country found Putnam a quiet farmer, and well 
advanced in life ; but he threw himself into the contro- 



322 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

versy with all the boldness and energy of his younger 
years. He declared for his country without hesitation, 
and pronounced the Stamp Act an unmitigated tyranny. 
He was one of a committee appointed to confer with 
the governor on the subject, who inquired of the com- 
mittee what he should do if the stamped paper were 
sent to him. "Lock it up," said Putnam, "and give 
us the key; we will take care of it." "But suppose I 
should refuse you admission ? " queried the governor. 
" In five minutes your house will be leveled with the 
dust," said the stern old warrior, and " His Excellency" 
was satisfied. Being familiar with the British officers, 
he held free conversation with them relative to the 
impending troubles. One of them inquired of Putnam 
if he did not think five thousand British soldiers could 
march the whole length of the continent? "Yes," 
Putnam promptly replied, " if they behaved properly, 
and paid for what they took; but if they attempted it 
in a hostile manner, the American women would knock 
them on the head with their ladles." Such was Put- 
nam : a compound of blunt honesty, unswerving patriot- 
ism, and a bravery that no dangers could appall. He 
was a "rough ashlar," but sound; and his soldierly 
qualities, tried on many a battle-field, gave him un- 
bounded influence in the community, which he wielded 
in supporting resistance to British aggression, at what- 
ever cost and hazard. 

The conflict at Lexington found him toiling in his 
field, but the story of blood and battle awakened the 
lion within him. He paused not to count his years, 
nor to tell his wife, nor consult with neighbors; but, 
" mounting in hot haste," he was off for Boston, eager 



ISRAEL PUTNAM. 323 

for the fray, and resolved to perish or triumph with 
his oppressed countrymen. On reaching Cambridge 
and consulting with the leading men, he returned 
to Connecticut to confer with the State authorities. 
He promptly offered his services, was made a briga- 
dier-general, and at once returned to assume command. 
His experience in military affairs, and his well-known 
ability in active service, soon placed him, practically, 
in supreme command; and he was worthy of the dis- 
tinction. In a council of war, Putnam and Prescott 
were in favor of taking the offensive, at least so far as 
to fortify Bunker's Hill, believing that their raw troops 
would fight if behind breastworks, and that a battle, on 
such terms, would result in disaster to the enemy, and 
help to raise the war spirit in the Provincials. 

It was determined to occupy Bunker's Hill, but, 
either by mistake or design, Breed's Hill, still nearer 
to Boston, was selected for the intrenchments. Pres- 
cott commanded the troops, but Putnam was at his 
side, and at midnight marked out the ground for in- 
trenching. By daylight the troops had completed a 
redoubt about eight rods square ; and the British army 
in Boston rubbed their eyes with astonishment, when 
they saw, in the early gray of the morning, the threat- 
ening attitude of the Americans. It was the wager 
of battle, bravely thrown down, and England's pride 
could do nothing less than accept it. They did accept 
it, and, after hours of such fighting as the world had 
scarcely seen till then, secured possession of the in- 
trenchments, nothing more, and paid for it a price, in 
dead and wounded and martial prestige, that paled all 
England with deep concern. For the brave Colonists, 



324 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

though driven from their position, and with the loss 
of their noble Warren, it was a glorious and needed 
lesson. They discovered they could fight, that they 
had leaders capable of commanding in any emergency, 
and that the British troops were not invincible. But 
we must follow Putnam. After " drawing his designs," 
preparatory to the use of pick and spade, he was con- 
stantly on horseback, superintending the work, encour- 
aging the men, and giving directions to meet coming 
events. Before daylight, foreseeing the coming strug- 
gle, he hurried off to Cambridge for reinforcements, 
and had to run the gauntlet of fire across the Neck on 
his return. Feeling that all was safe under Prescott's 
command, he secured a detachment and threw up other 
breastworks on Bunker's Hill, to serve as a rallying 
point in case of defeat. He again rode over to Cam- 
bridge to hasten the reinforcements under Stark and 
Eeed, and then coolly awaited the coming issue. See- 
ing the gallant Warren dashing up the hill to share in 
the coming fight, Putnam offered to place himself under 
his command ; but Warren would not listen to it, well 
knowing that he was but a novice in war, while Putnam 
and Prescott were veterans. As the enemy were dis- 
embarking at the foot of the hill and preparing for the 
charge, Putnam rode along the lines, encouraging the 
men, and kindling their enthusiasm. He directed them 
to reserve their fire until the enemy were within eight 
rods of them, and then to aim at their waistbands. 

We need not attempt a description of the battle, for 
the reader is doubtless familiar with the details. It is 
enough to know that our troops, after repeatedly re- 
pulsing the enemy with fearful slaughter, were com- 



ISRAEL PUTNAM. 325 

pelled, for want of ammunition and bayonets, to retire. 
Putnam attempted to rally them behind the embank- 
ments he had thrown up on Bunker's Hill. He rode 
between them and the enemy; he exhorted and raved 
by turns ; but the men were only raw and undisciplined 
militia, and, once driven from behind their defenses, 
without cartridge or bayonet, and with a victorious foe 
in front, it was impossible to stop them. The British 
gained the position, but the Americans won the laurels. 
In the old cathedral at Chester, England, we saw, a 
few years since, a torn and tattered flag carried by the 
British Cheshire regiment on that bloody day. It went 
into the conflict near a thousand strong: but three 
lived to rehearse the story around their own firesides 
at home! 

In a few days "Washington arrived at head-quarters 
and assumed the chief command, while Putnam was 
commissioned the first major-general under him. He. 
had been previously offered the same rank in the British 
army, if he would draw his sword against his country; 
but the brave old hero scornfully rejected it as an in- 
sult. Putnam continued with the army before Boston, 
and in the active discharge of his duties, until the 
British evacuated the city. There is extant a humor- 
ous story told of Putnam while the army was yet before 
Boston, which will serve, in part, to illustrate "the 
kind of man he was." Circumstances convinced the 
commander-in-chief that the enemy obtained informa- 
tion from within his lines, and strenuous exertions were 
made to discover the traitor, but all was unsuccessful. 
That there was a traitor somewhere in the camp or 
town was perfectly clear, but no watching or rewards 



326 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

could find out who it was, and Washington became 
keenly alive to the importance of arresting the guilty 
one. One day, Putnam, by chance, discovered the 
author of the mischief. It was a coarse, brawny wo- 
man of loose character, who resided in the outskirts 
of the town, and the evidence being so conclusive, 
Putnam determined at once. to arrest her. Biding up 
to her door, the General requested her company to 
head-quarters ; but she declined the honor, and assailed 
the old warrior with a torrent of abuse that was per- 
fectly appalling. Finding force must be used, he 
seized her with one hand, and, with his giant strength, 
placed her on the horse in front of him. With one 
arm round his prisoner, and with the other hand at 
the bridle, he put spurs to his horse, and rode at 
his utmost speed toward the tent of Washington. The 
termagant "screamed, scratched, and kicked," but the 
stern old man clung to his prize, and pressed his ani- 
mal to higher speed. Washington, with his aids, saw 
Putnam coming, his face all ablaze and his horse in 
a foam, and stepped out of the tent to meet his ap- 
proach, and unravel the mystery. What could be the 
matter, that the second in command should come in 
such a questionable plight? Beining up in the pres- 
ence of his chief, Putnam unceremoniously tumbled his 
prisoner off, with — " Here's the traitor]" The whole 
affair is said to have been so exceedingly mirth-pro- 
voking that it raised shouts of laughter among the 
officers and staff, and even Washington himself was so 
overcome with a sense of the ludicrous that he could 
not refrain from joining in the merriment. But such 
was the rough, yet brave and true-hearted Putnam. 



ISRAEL PUTNAM. 327 

During the summer of 1775, Putnam, at the head of 
three hundred men, attacked the enemy on Noddle's 
Island, now East Boston, burned a British schooner, 
captured a sloop, killing and wounding seventy of the 
British, and brought off, as trophies, several hundred 
sheep and cattle. This little dash raised the spirits of 
his men, while it increased the reputation of Putnam 
as an active and daring officer. 

In August, 1776, Putnam was with the army on Long 
Island, when it was attacked by twice its numbers, and 
terribly defeated. Greene was sick, and Putnam was 
unacquainted with the localities, else the issue might 
have been different. The timely arrival of Washing- 
ton, favored by a dense fog on the river, enabled our 
army to escape, as almost by miracle. Putnam then 
occupied the city of New York, with a portion of the 
army ; but the enemy followed up his success, and was 
about to close in on him. At this critical moment he 
put his men to their utmost effort, and reached Harlem 
Hights just in time to escape the snare that was laid 
for him. He was with Washington on his subsequent 
retreat across New Jersey, and was afterward sent to 
Philadelphia to put that city in a state of defense. Some 
time after the battles of Trenton and Princeton, he 
was placed in command at the latter place, and, in the 
following spring, was transferred to the Highlands, and 
put into a separate command. It was while here that 
a Tory lieutenant was captured within his lines, was 
tried by a court-martial, convicted, and sentenced to be 
hung as a spy. The British general sent a flag of truce 
to Putnam, claiming the prisoner as a British officer, 
and making terrible threats if he should be executed. 



328 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

Putnam, however, was the wrong man to trifle with, 
and the Englishman's threats were of little avail. He 
sent the following tart and laconic reply: 

Head-quarters August, 7, 1777. 
Edmund Palmer, an officer in the enemy's service, was taken 
as a spy, lurking within our lines. He has been tried as a spy, 
condemned as a spy, and shall be hanged as a spy; and the flag 
is ordered to depart immediately. Israel Putnam. 

P. S. — He has been accordingly executed. 

Soon afterward the army under the command of 
Putnam was greatly reduced, to augment the force 
under Washington, and the enemy took advantage of 
his weakened condition to attack and capture Forts 
Montgomery and Clinton, when Putnam retired with 
his small command to Fishkill. 

During Putnam's stay in the Highlands, the cele- 
brated President Dwight was chaplain to his army. 
He was as patriotic as his general; and when the war 
had dispersed his students from Yale College, he betook 
himself to the army, and ministered to the soldiers. 
It was a gloomy time then among the soldiers of Put- 
nam's command, and the old hero himself was greatly 
disheartened. The enemy, victorious at Clinton and 
Montgomery, had broken the boom at West Point, 
burned the town of Hudson, and were pushing on up 
north to form a junction with the hitherto-conquering 
Burgoyne. Suddenly, however, light broke upon the 
gloom. Tidings came that Burgoyne had surrendered 
to Gates, and the whole army was alive with rejoicing, 
none being more jubilant than Putnam himself. It 
was Saturday when the good news came, and Putnam, 



ISRAEL PUTNAM. 329 

still true to his Connecticut instincts, determined to 
signalize the event by inviting President D wight to 
preach to the army on the next day. 

The day came, and the rough warriors, headed by 
their stormy but brave old commander, assembled to 
listen to the learned doctor. He took for his text — 
" I will remove far off from you the northern army." 
(Joel ii : 20.) The theme and the occasion kindled the 
good man's enthusiasm, while his burning and patri- 
otic words awakened like emotions in his audience. The 
old ' 'wolf-killer" was greatly moved. He could hardly 
sit still — smiled and winked, and gave his approving 
nods to the eloquent words of his favorite chaplain. 
The old man had fought much more than he had 
studied the Scriptures, and he could not believe there 
was such a passage in the Bible — so appropriate to the 
occasion, so pointed, so full of promise — and told one 
of his officers that "Dwight had made it up for the 
occasion!" at the same time confessing that the ser- 
mon was just as good as though the text were genuine 
Scripture. The officer, better informed, told his com- 
mander that he was mistaken — that the text was in 
the Bible. Putnam was incredulous — it could not be 
possible! and the officer, procuring a Bible, pointed 
out the very words to the astonished general. The 
brave old man could hardly believe his eyes, but, at 
last, exclaimed : " Well, there is every thing in that book, 
and Dwight knoivs just where to put his finger on it!" 
The Bible was, indeed, a wonderful book, and contained 
many wonderful sayings; but his chaplain was a won- 
derful man, and knew all about the wonderful book. 
That little army, too, had a wonderful commander in 
28 



330 MASONIC BIOGKAPHY. 

the person of that worthy old Craftsman; and about 
the time Dwight finished his discourse on that occasion, 
Putnam felt himself equal to a contest with, the entire 
British forces on the Hudson. 

Putnam was soon after removed from command in 
the Highlands, inasmuch as a court of inquiry had been 
called to investigate the cause of the fall of Forts 
Montgomery and Clinton. The court decided that no 
blame could be attached to Putnam in the matter, and 
he was soon after placed in command of a force in Con- 
necticut. It was while he was stationed here, in 
March, 1779, that he made that fearful dash, on horse- 
back, down a rocky precipice, when escaping from the 
enemy. The notorious Governor Try on had made an 
incursion into the State in command of fifteen hundred 
British troops, and approached Horse Neck, one of Put- 
nam's outposts. There were but one hundred and fifty 
men, with two pieces of artillery, to oppose this formid- 
able force. Putnam was not used to running, how- 
ever, until he had at least exchanged blows with his 
adversary. He stationed his little force on the brow 
of a hill, and, after exchanging a few shots with the 
enemy, he discovered their dragoons about to charge 
upon him in large force. He at once ordered his men 
to take refuge in a neighboring swamp, inaccessible to 
cavalry, while he prepared to escape on horseback. 
Finding himself so hotly pursued, and the dragoons 
about closing in on him, he dashed down a steep de- 
clivity, where not an Englishman dared venture to 
follow. During his ride down the rocky hill-side an 
enemy's ball passed through his hat, but he escaped 
without personal injury. Calling out some militia, he 



ISRAEL PUTNAM. S31 

rejoined his little forces and hung upon the rear of the 
retreating foe, capturing fifty prisoners. 

During the following summer he again had command 
in the Highlands, near "West Point, and, assisted by his 
cousin, General Eufus Putnam, he completed the forti- 
fications at that important post. After the army had 
gone into winter-quarters, Putnam returned to his 
family in Connecticut, where he spent the winter. In 
the spring he started once more for the camp, but, on 
the way, was attacked by paralysis of his left side, and 
he was compelled to return to his home. Though 
more than threescore years had passed over him, he 
was reluctant to give up the army, for his soul was in 
the cause. But the " pitcher was broken at the fount- 
ain," and the stalwart form that had passed through so 
many battles, and endured so much fatigue and suffer- 
ing, was compelled to bow to the irreversible decree. 
On his farm, at Brooklyn, Connecticut, surrounded by 
his family, he watched, in quiet, the progress of that 
contest in which he continued to feel a deathless inter- 
est, but in which he could no longer take an active 
part. The storm of war still rolled on, and Putnam 
kept his eye on his beloved Washington as the Beth- 
lehem-star that was to light the new-born nation to 
freedom and independence. At length came tidings of 
final victory from York town, and they were soon fol- 
lowed by a cessation of hostilities, and an honorable 
peace. No man in America rejoiced over the result 
more than the venerable invalid, and he was permitted 
to live for seven years longer, and died on the 7th of 
May, 1790, while his old brother in arms and com- 
mander-in-chief was President of the United States. 



332 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

He passed two years beyond his " threescore and ten/' 
and then slept with the patriot fathers, while his re- 
mains were borne with martial honors to the tomb. 
On his gravestone was inscribed — 

" HE DARED TO LEAD WHERE ANY DARED TO FOLLOW." 

We copy the following characteristics of General 
Putnam from a sketch by Mr. Headley : 

" Putnam was a brave and efficient commander, pos- 
sessing great and striking military qualities. In per- 
son he was stout; his rough, weather-beaten face 
indicated the exposed and boisterous life he had led. 
His courage was proverbial, and his fortitude was equal 
to his courage. Headlong as an avalanche in his 
charge, he was, nevertheless, patient under restraint. 
His bravery was of that extravagant kind — like Mu- 
rat's — which never allowed one to count the enemy, or 
see obstacles in his path. He would go anywhere, dare 
any danger, if he could only get his men to follow him. 
At the same time he was perfectly cool and self-pos- 
sessed in the fight, and would stand all alone amid 
the raining balls as calmly as if he were impervious 
to death Overcome by no hardships, re- 
pelled by no difficulties, and daunted by no danger, 
he moves through his eventful career like one who 
bears a charmed life. Living in an adventurous pe- 
riod, his history seems stranger than fiction. .Loving 
the excitement of battle, and at home amid the rattle 
of musketry, he gallantly fought his way up from cap- 
tain of a militia company to major-general of the army 
of the United States. He carried great moral power 
with him, for men were afraid of one who was afraid 



ISEAEL PUTNAM. 333 

of nothing. They knew, when he resolved on a thing, 
if human daring and human energy could accomplish 
it, it would he done. He lacked, however, combination, 
and was not fit to conduct a campaign designed to cover 
a large territory and embrace the movements of differ- 
ent bodies of men. Hence he would have made a very 
inefficient commander-in-chief, and was not even a good 
major-general. Still, with all his deficiencies, he was 
a strong man in battle. His fiery courage, headlong 
impetuosity, and stubborn tenacity, made him a dan- 
gerous foe An iron man, he nevertheless 

had as kind a heart as ever beat in a human bosom. 
He was generous to a fault, frank and confiding, and 
of unswerving integrity. Beloved by all who knew 
him, faithful to every trust committed to his charge, a 
devoted patriot, and a brave and noble man, he helped 
to fill up the measure of his country's glory, and receive 
the blessings of a grateful people." 

Putnam was a Freemason — a tried and true one. 
History has not told us specifically when or where he 
was initiated, and the Craft in Connecticut have been 
tardy in searching out the facts. It is well known that 
he belonged to the Order, and was connected with a 
Lodge located at or near Pomfret, in the vicinity of 
which he resided. The Lodge has long since ceased to 
work, we believe, and the records are probably lost ; 
but the fact that the brave old general was a member 
of it comes down to us unquestioned. 

The best years of his life were spent in the army, 
and he had little opportunity to acquire distinction as 
a Mason in the Lodge-room at home ; but there were 
Lodges in the British army, and he doubtless mingled 



334 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

with his brethren there, in fort or bivouac, as occasion 
offered ; and we know not but he owed his escape from 
death at the stake, or captivity in Montreal, to the in- 
fluence of Masonry. Such was often the case in those 
days. 

The Grand Lodge of Connecticut, a few years since, 
joined the State and citizens in the erection of a monu- 
ment over the tomb of Wooster, in Danbury ; and it was 
then well understood that their next achievement in 
this line should be a cenotaph to the memory of his fel- 
low-patriot and brother Mason, General Putnam. The 
times since, however, have been unpropitious, but we 
may hope that the Masons and citizens of Connecticut 
will yet mark the spot where sleep the remains of one 
of the earliest Masons of the State, and one of the coun- 
try's most patriotic and gallant defenders. 



DAYID WOOSTER. 



DAVID WOOSTER 



David Wooster was born at Stratford, on the 2d 
of March, 1710-11, Old Style— the son of Abraham 
and Mary Wooster, and the youngest of six children. 
Reared in the Puritan principles and training of that 
era, the discipline of his early years was severe and 
sober. He graduated at Yale College, in 1738. He 
had but just reached his twenty-seventh year when 
England, in violation of treaty, and for the shameful 
purpose of monopolizing the slave-trade to the Spanish 
colonies, declared war against Spain. Innumerable 
pirates and smugglers had been invited to the Ameri- 
can seas, by the protection which the British flag ex- 
tended to an infamous traffic. Disturbed, however, in 
their adventures by the unexpected war, and by the 
vigilance of the numerous Spanish cruisers employed 
in the preventive service, these reckless sea-robbers did 
not hesitate to levy contributions along the whole 
American coast, and on a people under whose flag they 
professed to sail. To provide against a descent upon 
our exposed seaports, not only by the Spanish coast- 

29 (337) 



338 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

guards, but by the buccaneering enemies of the hu- 
man race, the General Assembly of Connecticut, at its 
May session, in 1740, ordered a sloop-of-war to be 
built and equipped. Within the year the sloop was 
launched at Middletown, and appropriately named the 
Defense. Here, in the first war-vessel ever built by 
his native colony, we first meet David Wooster; here 
was the commencement of his long career of public 
service. Of the sloop Defense he was appointed lieu- 
tenant, and afterward captain. In this vessel we find 
him from 1741 to 1743, young, ambitious, and (if we 
may trust his portrait) handsome, cruising between Cape 
Cod and the capes of Virginia, (for such were the limits 
assigned by the resolution of the General Assembly,) 
taking the inner passage through the Sound. As he 
passes the rock-bound shores of old Connecticut, running 
into New London for stores and supplies from the ship's 
commissary ; running into New Haven on a stolen visit 
to Mary, who was yet to be his bride; looking into the 
bays of Long Island, and the inlets of the Jerseys, in 
search for pirates, and then standing away for the 
capes of Virginia, he hopes, all the time, that some 
Spanish argosy with doubloons, from Havana to Cadiz, 
would be driven so far northward of her course. He 
searches the horizon for some Spanish cruiser not 
more than double the Defense in metal and men, and 
when, without any adventure, the headlands of Virginia 
heave in sight, he changes his course, and returns to 
New London to discharge his crew, or to drill and 
discipline them, as the General Assembly shall order. 
During this alarm, so faithfully did he execute the 
duties of guardian of the coast, that, although neigh- 



DAVID WOOSTER. 339 

boring colonies were frequently ravaged, the shores of 
Connecticut were unpolluted by any piratical invasion. 
While Wooster was employed in this humble service, 
the war that originated in a mere question of colonial 
commerce, and which, at the outset, was confined to 
these distant colonies, grew into a general struggle of 
Europe, involving all the principles on which her States 
are founded, and desolating the four quarters of the 
globe. The Pragmatic Sanction, which settled the 
throne of Austria on Maria Theresa, was solemnly 
guaranteed by all the principal sovereigns of Europe. 
But the crown was hardly placed on her brow before 
Frederick of Prussia and Louis of France conspired 
to despoil of her hereditary dominions one whose sex, 
youth, and beauty presented the strongest claims to their 
protection, even if they had not been bound to her by 
sanctity of treaties and the oaths of kings. England 
remained true to the house of Hapsburg. Both hemi- 
spheres were plunged in war, and, as one of the direct 
results of royal perjury, thousands in the remote valleys 
of Connecticut, who would otherwise have descended in 
green old age to where 

" The rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep," 

shed their young life-blood on battle-fields from Detroit 
to Louisburg, and found early graves in the snows of 
Canada and the tropical sands of the West Indies. 

On this side of the Atlantic the lightning struck 
before the thunder was heard. Louisburg, on the 
island of Cape Breton, was the camp and arsenal of 
French dominion in America, and the scourge of the 
English. From it issued the French and Canadians on 



340 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

tlieir errands of massacre and pillage; from it sped 
those cruisers that swept our coasters from the seas, 
and annihilated our fisheries; from it now burst the 
war-storm upon one of our frontier settlements. At this 
time Massachusetts was governed by the resolute and 
adventurous Shirley. He conceived the bold idea of 
striking a blow at this terror and wonder of our primi- 
tive forefathers, of uniting the seven Northern colonies 
in an expedition that should drive the plowshare over 
the strongest fortress north of the Gulf of Mexico. It 
was an enterprise more formidable then, and more un- 
equal to the comparative resources of the two periods, 
than would be now an armament, from the same States, 
for the capture of Gibraltar, or the emancipation of 
Hungary. The colonies embraced this plan with un- 
exampled unanimity and zeal. It even assumed the 
character of an anti-Catholic crusade. Louisburg was 
not only the head-quarters of a hostile race, but of a 
hated religion. A Romish priest had marshaled and 
led her Indians against our Protestant brethren on the 
frontiers. The celebrated Whitfield, then on his third 
tour through New England, blew these sparks into a 
flame. He inscribed on a banner "Nil desperandum 
Christo duce," and presented it to a New Hampshire 
regiment. One of the chaplains carried a hatchet, 
which he had consecrated to the purpose of hewing 
down the images in the enemy's churches. Under 
such powerful stimulants, the colonies taxed their 
strength to the utmost, and exhausted their resources. 
New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey contributed, 
lavishly, money and munitions of war; New England, 
as lavishly, men; Connecticut, never backward in such 



DAVID WOOSTER. 341 

emergencies, sent an entire regiment to Louisburg, 
under the command of Koger Wolcott, one of those 
massive characters hewn out by nature for the founda- 
tion of States — a man who, without one day's schooling, 
rose from a weaver's shuttle to the highest civil, mili- 
tary, and judicial honors. 

Into this scheme, having for its object the present 
and permanent safety of all the Northern colonies, 
Wooster entered with all the affluent zeal of an ardent 
and unselfish nature. He was among the first to vol- 
unteer in the cause; he was among the first to receive 
a captain's commission; he was the first to recruit and 
arm his company, and report it ready for service. The 
month which immediately preceded his departure upon 
this expedition was, perhaps, the one of all others to 
which his mind reverted with the tenderest emotion, 
while he lay here, at the gates of death, in the fatal 
spring of 1777; for, on the 6th of March, 1745, he 
was married to Mary, the daughter of the Rev. 
Thomas Clap, President of Yale College — a wife who, 
from the date of her nuptials till she followed him to 
the grave, clove to his fortunes with all a woman's 
unfaltering constancy and devotion. About the same 
period, also, he purchased the old homestead in New 
Haven, on the street which now bears his honored 
name, and there established his household gods for the 
remainder of his days. 

The Connecticut troops sailed from New London on 
the 11th of April, 1745, in eight transports, under the 
convoy of the colony's sloop-of-war Defense, and, on 
the last day of the same month, the united armament 
of the Northern colonies, consisting of one hundred ves- 



342 MASONIC BIOGEAPHY. 

sels ; anchored in sight of Louisburg. They were here, 
most fortunately, joined by His Majesty's squadron, un- 
der Admiral Warren. William Pepperell, of Maine, 
an opulent merchant, but with no aptitude for martial 
exploits save uniform good luck, was the commander- 
in-chief of the combined forces. Roger Wolcott, of 
Connecticut, was second in command. Neither officers 
nor soldiers were at all skilled in that splendid science 
of modern times which has blotted out the word " im- 
pregnable" from our tongue, and reduced the capture 
of the strongest fortresses to a mere question of time. 
But if Pepper ell could not rely upon military art, he 
had a tower of strength in the courage and hardihood 
of his troops. His artillery was dragged by human 
strength over morasses, and up rocky hills, impassable 
to wheels. Shanties of brush and turf were the only 
tents of the men, the earth their only bed, and disease 
was more fatal than the enemy's fire. The royal bat- 
tery on shore was abandoned at the approach of the 
New Hampshire regiment. Five unsuccessful attempts 
were made to carry an island battery, which, far in 
advance of the main defenses, held the squadron at bay. 
It still frowned defiance at the fleet, while back of it 
the cannon thundered from the shore ; and back of all, 
surrounded by its moat of twenty yards, towered, forty 
feet high, the walls of the stronghold, all enfiladed by 
the guns of the bastions. Hope was rapidly yielding 
to despair. Fortunately, the garrison was feeble and 
mutinous, provisions scarce, and the only ship relied 
upon for supplies had been captured by Warren, and, 
more than all, Duchambeau, its governor, was weak, 
irresolute, cowardly. While the Colonists were at the 



DAVID WOOSTER. 343 

very point of hazarding the fate of the expedition on 
the desperate chance of carrying these formidable works 
by storm, the French governor, more desponding than 
the besiegers, sent out a flag of truce, with an offer to 
surrender. The terms proposed were speedily accepted. 
On the 19th of June, the forty-eighth day of the siege, 
the fortress and city capitulated, and the next Sunday 
a Puritan chaplain (it might have been the very one 
that bore the hatchet) preached against the real pres- 
ence, before the high altar of a Catholic cathedral. 

Wooster seems to have won all the laurels at this 
famous siege which could be plucked from such a de- 
moralized and panic-stricken foe. No subaltern was 
more conspicuous for courage, resolution, and martial 
bearing, while the following incident secured him an 
unequaled reputation for spirit and chivalry. A Brit- 
ish captain had ventured to apply his ratan quite 
freely to the shoulders of one of Captain Wooster 's 
men, a respectable freeholder and Church-member from 
Connecticut. Wooster remonstrated with the regular 
for so grossly abusing official superiority. The Briton 
resented this advice in unmeasured terms, and finally 
drew his sword to chastise the adviser on the spot. 
Wooster successfully parried his thrusts and speedily 
disarmed him. Applying his own sword to his adver- 
sary's breast, he told him that the life he had justly 
forfeited could only be redeemed by asking pardon, 
and promising that he would never again disgrace with 
a blow any soldier in the service. The terms were 
accepted without a parley. The jeers of his compan- 
ions soon drove the officer from the army, while Woos- 
ter won the title of the soldier's protector and friend. 



344 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

In consideration of the gallantry and gentlemanly 
deportment of Captain Wooster, he was intrusted with 
the command of a cartel ship that was to convey the 
trophies and prisoners to England. The year had been 
a disastrous one to the British arms. The fall of Lou- 
isburg was the only event that redeemed its mis- 
fortunes. The ministry were amazingly in want of 
victories and heroes. Captain Wooster was received in 
London with extraordinary exultation. His portrait 
adorned the walls of the coffee-houses and the pages 
of magazines. He was followed, feted, presented to 
court, and gladdened with the sunshine of the royal 
smile. He was more substantially rewarded. A cap- 
tain's commission in His Majesty's service was gra- 
ciously given to the future commander-in-chief of the 
Connecticut rebels. With the exception of the author 
and the lieutenant-general of the expedition, he was the 
only individual engaged in it that received any marks 
of ministerial condescension. Wooster returned to this 
country by packet to Boston. Impressed, while abroad, 
with the necessity of some tie that should unite all 
mankind in a universal brotherhood, he now procured 
from the Provincial Grand Lodge of Massachusetts a 
charter, which first introduced into this colony that 
light which has since warmed so many widows' hearts, 
and illumined so many orphans' pathway. Under this 
charter Hiram Lodge was organized, in 1750, and 
Wooster appointed its first Master. 

I can not pass from this siege without calling atten- 
tion to the auspicious coincidence that this citadel of 
the French surrendered to a league of the colonies on 
the 17th of June, and that, on the same day, just thirty 



DAVID WOOSTER. 345 

years after, was fought the battle of Bunker's Hill. 
Colonel Gridley, who planted the mortar which, on the 
third trial, dropped a shell into the citadel of Louis- 
burg, marked out the lines of the famous redoubt on 
Bunker's Hill. Seth Pomeroy, the oldest brigadier in 
the Continental service, who walked over Charlestown 
Neck, through the cross-fire of the enemy's ships and 
floating batteries, to the same blood-stained hights, and 
Colonel Fry, afterward a brigadier in the same service, 
who plunged into the fight, cheered by this omen, were 
both at Louisburg. Wooster and Whiting, from Con- 
necticut, were there. So early was Providence mar- 
shaling the causes and forging the thunderbolts of the 
Revolution. 

The fourth intercolonial war, generally called the 
French and Indian "War, now approached — the war 
which, by finally sweeping the French from the conti- 
nent, removed the first great barrier to the independ- 
ence of the States. It grew out of the hollow peace 
patched up at Aix-la-Chapelle, in 1748. The bounda- 
ries defined by that treaty were so uncertain and 
equivocal that they only served as pretexts and provo- 
cations to fresh hostilities. Each party encroached 
upon territory which, under its provisions, the other 
claimed. The settlements thus planted by Saxon and 
Gaul were backed up by both with military force. 
Hard words, blows, bloodshed followed. The parent 
countries were dragged into the conflict, and thus All- 
seeing Destiny opened the school in which Washington, 
Gates, Putnam, Stark, Wooster, Prescott, Montgomery, 
Lee, Mercer, and a host of others, were educated and 
disciplined for the fiery ordeal of the Revolution. Dur- 



346 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

ing the seven years of this final and decisive struggle 
with France, our feeble colony — Lacedaemon of the 
"West — in various expeditions, sent forth upward of 
thirteen thousand men, more than one-tenth of her en- 
tire population, more than one-fifth of her male adults. 
"When I reflect that to every call from the Crown, in 
this war, Connecticut responded with more than her 
quota in money and men ; when I reflect that she again 
decimated her population, and exhausted her means 
and her credit, in the Eevolutionary conflict, I am 
proud to feel that she has fairly earned the discrimin- 
ating commendation of Mr. Bancroft, when he says: 
u No State in the world has such motives for publish- 
ing its historical records; partly because none in the 
world has run a fairer or happier or more unsullied 
career than Connecticut ; partly because the modesty of 
those who have gone before you has left unclaimed 
much of the glory due her, and partly that it is only 
in the past that you find the Connecticut people an un- 
divided whole ; since then, her increase in numbers has 
been so disproportioned to her original territory, that 
her citizens, or their descendants, are scattered all the 
way from Wyoming to the mouth of the Oregon." 

In 1756, as colonel of the third regiment of Connecti- 
cut, Wooster joined, at Albany, ten thousand regulars 
and Provincials — the finest army yet seen in America — 
designed, under the guidance of the Earl of Loudon, to 
capture Ticonderoga and Crown Point, and drive the 
French beyond the St. Lawrence. But at Albany, from 
early spring until August, the Connecticut troops waited 
for their sluggish commander, who was loitering away, 
in New York ; the precious moments of action — waited, 



DAVID WOOSTEE. 347 

idle, half-starved, and decimated by the small-pox, until 
his lordship arrived — too late in the season for a north- 
ern campaign. Nothing remained but for such of our 
men as disease had spared to return to their homes. 

The next year, a third levy of five thousand troops 
was drawn from Connecticut for the reduction of the 
same posts, which the inefficiency of the British gene- 
rals had spared in the preceding campaign. Colonel 
Wooster again marched his regiment from New Haven 
to the head-waters of the Hudson. Abercrombie — whom 
they afterward described as " one a child could outwit, 
and a popgun terrify" — was the imbecile dispatched 
by the ministry to conduct the campaign. Eeckless of 
every thing but his own personal safety, without wait- 
ing for his artillery, he pushed forward the flower of his 
troops, over brushwood, stumps of trees, and all sorts 
of rubbish, to storm a breastwork of logs, bristling with 
swivels, and flanked by cannon, behind which Montcalm 
— the bravest of the brave — lay, with thirty-six hund- 
red French and Canadians. The result can be fore- 
seen : swivels and small arms mowed down officers and 
men. Courage and intrepidity only rendered the car- 
nage more terrible. Wooster led his regiment into the 
thickest of this storm. They stood up to the butchery 
with unfaltering pluck, and his own escape was one of 
the miracles of the battle-field. After this prodigal sac- 
rifice of life to his incompetency, Abercrombie emerged 
from a saw-mill, two miles from the field — where he 
had been safely ensconced during the action — and, in 
the extremest fright and consternation, hurried his army 
back to the foot of Lake George. With an abundant 
force at his disposal to accomplish all the objects of the 



348 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

campaign, lie merely wearied his troops there with la- 
borious idleness, until the approach of winter permitted 
Wooster to return from the battle-field and the barracks, 
to where, in the mellow light of an October sun, curled 
the blue smoke of the old homestead ; to the fields where 
his children gamboled ; to the pious wife, who, daily and 
nightly, in the church and the closet, had wrestled with 
Israel's God for his safe return. 

Before the next campaign opened — fortunately for 
the English dominion in America, and for the great 
interests of human freedom — the ministry which had 
sent ignorance and cowardice to lead our armies was 
hurled from power, and a man placed at the helm so 
born to command that he breathed into every servant 
of the State the might of his own thoughts and the 
enthusiasm of his soul. William Pitt now made him- 
self the heart of the British empire, and through her 
stagnant and decaying veins sent, in a vitalizing cur- 
rent, health, strength, and energy. Under his auspices 
the aspect of affairs upon this continent was speedily 
changed. In the month of May, 1759, Colonel Wooster 
led his regiment to Fort George, to join the memorable 
expedition under General Amherst, which completed 
the conquest of Canada. I have before me a sermon 
which was preached to Colonel Wooster and his regi- 
ment, in the North Church of New Haven, just prior 
to their departure. The " drum ecclesiastic," in those 
days, played the same inspiriting airs which had kindled 
the enthusiasm of Scottish Covenanters, and led from 
victory to victory the old Ironsides of Cromwell. In 
these early colonial struggles, no company marched from 
a Connecticut village without the holiest benedictions 



DAVID WOOSTER. 349 

of the Church. They were conjured to fight bravely for 
Church and altar. They were told that God himself 
hated the coward; that while "they were engaged in 
the field, many would repair to the closet — many to the 
sanctuary ; that the faithful of every name would em- 
ploy that prayer which has power with God ; that the 
feeble hands which were unequal to any other weapon 
would grasp the sword of the spirit; and that, from 
myriads of humble, contrite hearts, the voice of inter- 
cession, supplication, and weeping, would mingle, in its 
ascent to heaven, with the shout of battle and the shock 
of arms." 

Upon the advance of General Amherst's forces, Ti- 
conderoga and Crown Point — th*e objects of so many 
fruitless campaigns — were abandoned by their garri- 
sons. But, to guard against every contingency, this 
over-cautious commander detained his troops to repair 
and strengthen these important conquests. Meantime, 
"Wolfe fell in the arms of victory on the Hights of Abra- 
ham. The meteor-flag streamed from the battlements 
of Quebec. Montreal was the last foothold of the French 
in the Canadas. Early in the spring, General Amherst, 
dividing his forces into two columns, directed them, by 
different routes, against this distant post. General Havi- 
land led five thousand men by the way of Lake Cham- 
plain and the river Sorel, but the main army, ten thou- 
sand strong — to which Colonel Wooster's regiment was 
attached — went by one of the longest and most laborious 
marches recorded in our military annals. The State of 
New York, between Schenectady and the waters of On- 
tario — swarming now with millions of people, the great 
track of commerce and the home of industry — was then 



350 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

a wilderness, unbroken save by one military post. Over 
this immense stretch of forest and marsh Colonel "Woos- 
ter and his regiment toiled along, from June till August, 
by such roads as are now known in the heart of Ne- 
braska and Oregon. Arrived at Oswego, the army 
crossed Ontario in open galleys, to the point where the 
waters of our great inland seas first find an outlet to the 
ocean. From thence they tread their way, doubtful as 
to the channel, through those thousand islands, where, 
for many a league, the naiad of the stream and the 
dryad of the woods flow on together in joyful honey- 
moon. The troops capture and garrison all the military 
posts; they attack and take a French vessel-of-war ; 
they lose men and batteaux and artillery in descending 
the "great falls; but on, on they go, whirling through 
the rapids, and plunging down the cascades of this 
magnificent river, to the last retreat of the vanquished 
Gaul. 

General Amherst arrived at Montreal early in Sep- 
tember. Haviland's column soon reached it by Lake 
Champlain. Murray had ascended with the English 
army from Quebec. Twenty thousand Britons were 
concentrated before a town unprotected by either walls 
or fortifications. Resistance would have been a wanton 
waste of life; without a battle Montreal capitulated, 
and the French — with the exception of a small and 
feeble settlement at the mouth of the Mississippi — were 
driven from the continent of North America. 

So confident was Choiseul, the keen-eyed premier of 
Louis XV, that the conquest of Canada would result in 
the speedy emancipation of these colonies, that, after 
signing the treaty surreudering New France to the En- 



DAVID WOOSTER. 351 

glish, he exclaimed, exultingly, "We have caught them 
at last ! " 

The twelve years which followed the peace of 1763 
embrace the longest period in his life that Wooster 
was permitted to enjoy the happiness and repose of the 
fireside. At this time he was rich; his family were 
afterward poor. Upon his return to New Haven from 
Canada, he had engaged in mercantile pursuits, which 
yielded quick returns and large profits. He had him- 
self inherited an ample patrimony, and his bride, in 
addition to her other claims upon his admiration, pos- 
sessed, also, those solid charms which were not entirely 
despised, even in the heroic ages of our ancestors. A 
salary was attached to the office of collector, which he 
then held; and he continued to draw his half-pay as 
captain in His Majesty's service. From these various 
sources he derived an income which enabled him to 
surround himself with all the comforts and luxuries of 
wealth. A nature amiable, affable, kindly, rejoicing in 
the sweets of friendship and the prattle of children, 
found now some recompense for the privations and 
dangers of a seven years' war. His style of living was 
in the highest elegance of the olden time. He spread 
a bountiful table, kept his horses, his phaeton, and a 
troop of black domestics. The old family mansion in 
Wooster Street, then fairly isolated in the country, with 
an unobstructed prospect of the Sound, opened wide 
its doors in genuine hospitality. It was the resort of 
the learning, the talent, and the polish of that era — 
the dawn of the Revolution. In winter the grateful 
heat of hickory blazed in its ample fireplaces; in 
summer the gentle breezes from the Sound fanned the 



352 MASONIC BIOGEAPHY. 

feverish brow, and, at all seasons, the long sideboard, 
loaded with the emblems of cheer and good-fellowship, 
welcomed every guest. Madame Wooster was herself 
a heroine of the Revolutionary type — strong in mind, 
bold and earnest in character, and with a presence and 
manners so dignified and imposing as to awe into rev- 
erence the drunken Tories, who subsequently sacked 
her dwelling. The only drawback upon her felicity, 
during the earlier years of her marriage, seems to 
have been, that she could not personally share her 
husband's dangers in the field, and, having now recov- 
ered him, safe from war's alarms, she exerted her rare 
accomplishments to enhance the charms of peace. An 
only daughter, just budding into womanhood, warmed 
the father's heart by her filial devotion, and lighted 
his dwelling with the social radiance which youth and 
beauty dispense. An only son, not yet faithless to the 
virtues of his sire, was comfortably settled in life, and 
promised fair to gratify paternal pride, and transmit 
an unblemished name. A retinue of faithful depend- 
ents — sailors who had cruised with him in the Defense, 
orderlies who had been attached to his person in some 
of his numerous expeditions, old soldiers who had fol- 
lowed him to the wars — surround him in his moments 
of leisure, appeal to him in their embarrassments, feed 
at his lavish board, and adore him as their benefactor 
and friend. From these tranquil enjoyments he was 
now summoned to that final struggle of which the pre- 
vious wars had been the faint and feeble harbinger. 
When the blood that was spilled in the streets of Lex- 
ington closed forever the door of reconciliation, he 
turned his back upon this domestic Eden, abandoned 



DAVID WOOSTER. 353 

the prospect of commanding opulence, abjured his in- 
come from the Crown, and accepted in their stead toil, 
persecution, danger, and, as the event proved, death. 
He even spurned the temptation of a high commission 
in the British army, which was earnestly pressed upon 
his acceptance ; and to a feeble colony, with hardly cash 
enough in its treasury to equip him for the war; to a 
penniless Congress, which must issue bills of credit ere 
it could set a battalion in the field, he gratuitously 
offered his services, to encounter the disciplined hosts 
and the exhaustless resources of a mighty empire. 
When it became apparent that war was inevitable, he 
did not even wait for official position. He was one of 
that party of private Connecticut gentlemen who, with- 
out committing the Legislature to any open act of 
hostility, planned the seizure of Fort Ticonderoga, and 
pledged their own personal securities to the State 
treasury for the loan which defrayed the expenses of 
the expedition. He thus participated in the first 
aggressive act against the Crown. 

It was not till its May session, in 1775, that our 
General Assembly threw off the guarded and equivocal 
language in which they had hitherto masked their war- 
like preparations, and in plain terms ordered one-fourth 
part of our militia to be armed and equipped for imme- 
diate service. The force thus organized was divided 
into six regiments, and David Wooster appointed major- 
general and commander-in-chief, with Joseph Spencer 
and Israel Putnam as his brigadiers. Active service 
immediately followed this appointment. At the solicit- 
ation of the Committee of Safety of New York, Wooster 
was ordered, with the troops under his command, to 
30 



354 MASONIC EIOGEAPHY. 

defend its metropolis against a threatened demonstration 
from the enemy. 

He was now sixty-five years of age. He was not 
■unprepared for the casualties of battle. He had not 
postponed till his advanced period of life the settle- 
ment of those momentous questions which the soul's 
immortality., suggests, but in early youth, before the 
mind is distracted with the cares and vexations of 
manhood, he had brought his reason and faith to 
accord with the inspired claims of divine revelation, 
He accepted the Holy Scriptures as the only safe rule 
in this life, and the only sure guide to the next. He 
reposed his hope for a happy eternity upon the merits 
of an atoning Immanuel. In 1732, when but twenty- 
two years of age, in the church of his birthplace, by 
a profession of Christianity, he publicly assumed its 
vows, and acknowledged its hopes. I have alluded to 
the religious phase of General Wooster s character, not 
only because a portraiture of him would be imperfect 
without it, but as an appropriate introduction to the 
following incident. It reveals most significantly whose 
blessing he invoked when he first unsheathed his sword 
in a civil war; upon whose arm he leaned, and whose 
guidance he implored when about to breast the dark 
and portentous cloud that lowered before him. It is 
from the lips of an eye-witness, a venerable citizen of 
New Haven, now no more, himself an officer of the 
Eevolution: "The last time I saw General Wooster 
was in June, 1775. He was at the head of his regi- 
ment, which was then embodied on the green, in front 
of where the Center Church now stands. They were 
ready for a march, with their arms glistening, and 



DAVID WOOSTER. 355 

their knapsacks on their backs. Colonel Wooster had 
already dispatched a messenger for his minister, the 
Rev. Jonathan Edwards, with a request that he would 
meet the regiment, and pray with them before their 
departure. He then conducted his men, in military 
order, into the meeting-house, and seated himself in his 
own pew, awaiting the return of the messenger. He 
was speedily informed that the clergyman was absent 
from home. Colonel Wooster immediately stepped into 
the deacon's seat in front of the pulpit, and calling his 
men to attend to prayers, offered up an humble peti- 
tion for his beloved country, for himself, the men under 
his immediate command, and for the success of the 
cause in which they were engaged. His prayers were 
offered with the fervent zeal of an apostle, and in such 
pathetic language that it drew tears from many an eye, 
and affected many a heart. When he had closed, he 
left the house with his men in the same order they had 
entered it, and the regiment took up its line of march 
for New York. With such a prayer on his lips he 
entered the Revolution. 

We now find Wooster, during July and August of 
1775, encamped at Harlem. The threatened attack 
upon New York had not yet been executed, but the 
summer, notwithstanding, was a busy one for him. 
The British, blockaded in Boston, and distressed for 
provisions, laid under contribution Long Island and 
the islands in the Sound contiguous thereto. Upon 
Wooster devolved the hard task of guarding these ex- 
posed positions from the enemy's cruisers, and of assist- 
ing the defenseless inhabitants to remove their cattle 
and crops to a place of security. He is at Brooklyn, 



356 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

or Oyster Ponds, at Montauk, at Plumb Island, every- 
where, hovering over the whole coast with his protect- 
ing wings. 

While engaged in these useful but inglorious employ- 
ments, his enthusiasm met with an unexpected rebuff. 
The regiments which the States had separately raised 
were now received into the pay, and adopted as the 
army of the United Colonies. Under this new organi- 
zation, Connecticut was entitled to one major-general, 
and to this grade General Putnam, Wooster's inferior 
in the colonial service, was promoted, while the com- 
mander-in-chief of the Connecticut troops was merely 
raised to the subordinate rank of brigadier. The slight 
was the more marked, because Wooster was the only co- 
lonial officer thus overslaughed by the Continental com- 
missions. The blow was a severe one. It was the first 
wound to a soldier's keen sensibility to honor that he 
had received in a military career of more than a quar- 
ter of a century. I have been so fortunate as to find 
the precise language in which he expressed the first 
bitterness of disappointed ambition — the earliest grief 
of unrequited patriotism. Koger Sherman, at that time 
our delegate to Congress, had communicated this in- 
formation to him in a letter, which contained the fol- 
lowing paragraph : 

"lam sensible that, according to your colonial rank, 
you were entitled to the place of major-general ; and, 
as one was to be appointed from Connecticut, I heartily 
recommended you to Congress. I informed them of 
the arrangements made by our Assembly, which I 
thought would be satisfactory to have them continue 
in the same order. But, as General Putnam's fame was 



DAVID WOOSTER. 357 

spread abroad, and especially his successful enterprise 
at Noddle's Island, the account of which had just ar- 
rived, it gave him a preference, in the opinion of the 
delegates in general, so that his appointment was unani- 
mous among the colonies ; but, from your known ability 
and firm attachment to the American cause, we were 
very desirous of your continuance in the army, and hope 
you will accept the appointment made by Congress." 

To which General Wooster thus replied : " ISTo man 
feels more sensibly for his distressed country, nor would 
more readily exert his utmost effort for its defense, than 
myself. My life has been ever devoted to her service, 
from my youth up, though never before in a cause like 
this — a cause for which I would most cheerfully risk, 
nay, lay down my life. Thirty years I have served as a 
soldier ; my character was never impeached nor called 
in question before. The Congress have seen fit, for 
what reason I know not, to point me out as the only 
officer, among all that have been commissioned in the 
different colonies, who is unfit for the post assigned 
him. The subject is a very delicate one." 

His misgivings, however, were but momentary; he 
did not look back to the home he had left, to the po- 
sition he had abandoned, to the British commissions he 
had scorned. With true magnanimity he overlooked 
the personal affront, and forgot himself for his country. 
In the month of October, in the same year, we find 
Wooster, (having accepted the Continental commission,) 
with the troops of the Connecticut line, at Ticonderoga, 
as a part of the ill-fated expedition against the Cana- 
das. And we here enter upon the most painful and 
trying period of his whole history. To command an 



358 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

army in a hostile country, demoralized by defeat, ill- 
armed, ill-fed, ill-clothed, ill-paid, ill-disciplined, en- 
tirely unequal to the enterprise in hand ; to be the one 
individual to whom its prayers and complaints are 
ultimately addressed, with no power to answer and re- 
lieve — the one, too, upon whom an anxious and excited 
nation imposes the odium of every misfortune and fail- 
ure — are all that kind of trial which stretches to its 
extremest tension every emotion of the soul. And this 
was Wooster's position for eighteen months. The dis- 
asters and suffering of that memorable campaign, the 
disappointment of the high-raised expectations of the 
country, the blow that the cause of independence re- 
ceived through its most decisive miscarriage, would, 
singly, have been sufficient to break down the strongest 
spirit. But, in addition to his manifold anxieties as 
commander of the invading army, and his full propor- 
tion of the general sorrow, upon Wooster was heaped 
another burden, more difficult for a high-spirited and 
generous nature to bear — the thanklessness, the arro- 
gance, and the insolence of his superior officer, General 
Schuyler, the commander of the Northern department — ■ 
indignities which could not be adequately resented 
without jeopardizing the great interests which depended 
on their cordial co-operation. 

Upon his arrival at Ticonderoga, Wooster found that 
he had provoked the decided enmity of his immediate 
chief. Upon his march thither he had permitted a 
few of his men to return home on furlough, and, when 
he reached Fort G-eorge, he Lad ordered a general 
court-martial, for the trial of all the offenses that had 
occurred during the advance of the brigade. These two 



DAVID WOOSTEK. 359 

acts were regarded by General Schuyler as flagrant 
violations of his prerogative, and he addressed a letter 
to Wooster, couched in the sharp language of rebuke. 
"In spite of my earnest persuasions," was Wooster's 
conclusive reply, "the troops under my command have 
refused to sign the Continental articles of ^tar, and, if 
governed at all, they must be governed by the law 
martial of Connecticut, under which they were raised. 
If there has been any infringement on etiquette, it was 
forced upon me by the imperious exigencies of the case, 
without intentional disrespect." But no answer could 
be satisfactory to Schuyler. He would neither forget 
nor forgive this fancied affront, but professed to see in it 
conclusive proof of a design on Wooster's part, by vir- 
tue of his colonial commission, to supersede Montgom- 
ery, who was his senior brigadier in the Continental 
line. He even ventured peremptorily to demand of 
Wooster, as a condition precedent to his further ad- 
vance, that he should give a direct answer to the ques- 
tion, whether he considered himself above or below 
General Montgomery in rank? "I have the cause of 
my country too much at heart," was General Woos- 
ter's patriotic and unruffled reply, " to attempt to make 
any difficulties and uneasiness in the army, upon which 
an enterprise of almost infinite importance is now de- 
pending. I shall consider my rank in the army what 
my commission from the Continental Congress makes it, 
and shall not attempt to dispute the command with 
General Montgomery." He was now graciously per- 
mitted to proceed; but he had hardly arrived at St. 
Johns before Schuyler followed him with the follow- 
ing extraordinary note : 



360 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

Ticonderoga, Octobe?' 23, 1775. 
Sir : Being well informed that you have declared, on your way to 
this place, that if you were at St. Johns you would march into the 
fort at the head of your regiment, and as it is just that you should 
have an opportunity of showing your prowess and that of your 
regiment, I have desired General Montgomery to give you leave to 
make the attempt if you choose. I do not wish, however, that you 
should be too lavish of your men's lives, unless you have a prospect 
of gaining the fortress. 

I am, sir, your most humble servant, 

Philip Schuyler. 

No notice was taken of this surly and offensive 
missive until some months afterward, when General 
Schuyler had foolishly complained to Congress of the 
unbecoming language which Wooster used in his dis- 
patches. Provoked at such a charge from such a source, 
Wooster then says: "You will remember your letter 
to me while I was at St. Johns, founded in falsehood, 
and which you could have no other motive in writing 
but to insult me. I thought it, at the time, not worth 
answering, and shall, at present, take no further notice 
of it." 

As if effectually to belie the ungenerous suspicions 
of General Schuyler, harmony, which had left the 
army, was recalled to it when Wooster joined. He 
co-operated heartily with Montgomery in the execution 
of all his plans. To their joint exertions the capitula- 
tion of St. Johns was due. They jointly attacked and 
dispersed the force under Sir Guy Carlton, which was 
hastening to its relief. They were joined in the resolu- 
tion of Congress, which thanked them for these merit- 
orious achievements. Together they marched upon 
Montreal. Wooster was left in command of its garri- 



DAVID WOOSTER. 361 

son, while Montgomery advanced upon Quebec, and 
fell, never to rise again, in the desperate assault of the 
31st of December. 

The death of his superior in the field left Wooster in 
command of a defeated, dispirited, impoverished army. 
With two thousand men he was called to achieve all 
the impossibilities demanded by the nation. He was to 
hold in subjection all the Canadas that had been over- 
run. "With nothing but uncurrent Continental bills, he 
was to clothe and equip his troops. He was to extort 
supplies from a people he was also directed to conciliate ; 
and, without an artillery company, a battering train, a 
mortar, or an engineer, he was to reduce the strongest 
fortified city upon the globe. Eight hundred men were 
all that could be spared for the operations against Que- 
bec, and the madness of attempting to storm it with 
such a feeble remnant did not require the failure of the 
recent experiment to demonstrate. For the approaches 
of a regular siege, the number, the character, and the 
equipments of the troops were entirely inadequate. 
Nothing remained but the third alternative, so dis- 
tasteful and odious to every soldier, in which neither 
honor nor applause, nothing but reproaches, odium, 
and misrepresentation were to be won — the slow, in- 
glorious, wearying process of a blockade. In the fruit- 
less attempt to starve out the garrison before supplies 
could reach them, the tedious months of that lon<jr winter 

7 o 

finally wore away. 

Wooster had hardly entered upon the command 

before the ulcer in Schuyler's bosom opened afresh, 

and the fire in the rear recommenced. Kemainiiig 

himself at Albany, and sluggishly forwarding the sup- 

31 



362 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

plies and provisions at his disposal, lie pursued the 
officer who commanded in the enemy's country with 
angry complaints, imperious mandates, and insulting 
letters. He issued orders, and then, in a most per- 
emptory tone, commanded Wooster to obey them, as if 
every previous order had been disregarded. He inter- 
fered with the internal regulation of the army and the 
police administration of the captured towns, and in 
other matters which exclusively pertain to the general 
in the field. Because Wooster intimated that some of 
the prisoners taken at St. Johns, who had been per- 
mitted to return by permits from the commander of 
the Northern army, were guilty of open acts of hos- 
tility to the American cause, Schuyler, with a total 
blindness to his own infirmity, accused him to Congress 
of writing " subacid" letters. Throughout the whole 
correspondence, in courtesy, in forbearance, in gener- 
osity, in patriotism, in every thing becoming the gen- 
tleman and the officer, Wooster leaves his assailant 
immeasurably behind. Uniformly temperate and con- 
ciliatory in his language, when goaded to a point where 
forbearance ceases to be a virtue, he contents himself 
with informing his superior that "he, too, claims the 
right to be treated with respect due to a gentleman 
and an officer of the Thirteen Colonies." He challenges 
him to mention a command which has not been cheer- 
fully obeyed; an order which has not been promptly 
fulfilled; to specify wherein he has failed to pay all 
proper respect to superior rank, or to exert every 
faculty for union, harmony, and the success of the cause. 
"No personal ill-treatment," says he, "will ever pre- 
vent my steadily and invariably pursuing those meas- 



DAVID WOOSTER. 363. 

ures most conducive to the public good." The con- 
troversy had now reached such a point that the two 
officers could no longer continue in their relative posi- 
tions without serious detriment to the public service. 
Both united in referring their grievances to Congress. 
A committee was raised, and, to the great joy of Woos- 
ter, he was recalled from a field where valor, self-denial, 
and resolution were only repaid with ingratitude and 
odium. Within one month from his departure, the 
American army were driven out of Canada, not only 
defeated, but disgraced. Wooster immediately repaired 
to Philadelphia, and addressed to the President of Con- 
gress a letter to the following purport: 

"The unjust severity and unmerited abuse with 
which I have been assailed in the colonies by those 
who would remove every obstacle to their own advance- 
ment, and the harsh treatment I have received from 
some members of the body over which you preside, 
renders it necessary that I should vindicate my admin- 
istration of the army in Canada. The honor of a sol- 
dier being the first thing he should defend, and his 
honesty the last he should give up, his character is 
always entitled to the protection of the virtuous and 
the good. I have, therefore, to request that a com- 
mittee may be appointed to examine thoroughly into 
my conduct in Canada, that I may be acquitted or 
condemned on just grounds and sufficient proof." 

A committee was accordingly raised, and it is un- 
necessary to say that the result of a most thorough in- 
vestigation was an unconditional acquittal of all blame- 
Impartial history has ratified the verdict, and charged 
our misfortunes in Canada not to the officers in com- 



364; MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

mand, but to the absolute and entire inadequacy of 
the means placed at their disposal. Wooster returned 
to Connecticut with the undiminished respect and con- 
fidence of his fellow-citizens ; and as the Assembly had 
recently raised six brigades for home defense, he was 
again appointed by it major-general and commander- 
in-chief. With zeal, unchilled either by age or misfor- 
tune, he again entered the service of the commonwealth. 
Madame Wooster was frequently heard to repeat, that 
when her husband was called upon to lead the Connec- 
ticut troops against the enemy, he could say, "I can 
not go with these men without money," and would draw 
from his own funds, and pay both officers and men, 
taking their receipts for the same. The papers and 
vouchers for these disbursements were all destroyed 
when the British pillaged her house, in 1779, and this 
venerable and accomplished woman was, in her declining 
years, actually imprisoned for debt, and the key of the 
jail turned upon her, from the impossibility of recov- 
ering the money her husband had advanced to his 
suffering country. 

On the morning of the 25th of April, 1777, twenty- 
six vessels, with the Cross of St. George at their 
respective peaks, were seen under full headway, steer- 
ing up the Sound. By noon they are standing in 
toward Norwalk Islands, and by four o'clock they had 
dropped anchor in what is now known as the harbor of 
Westport. Two thousand men, infantry, cavalry, and 
artillery , were immediately landed on Cedar Point, the 
eastern jaw of the Saugatuck's mouth. As the different 
companies land, they rendezvous on the beautiful hill 
that overlooks the Sound. Having here formed into 



DAVID WOOSTER. 365 

close column, they pass through the little hamlet called 
Compo, until they reach the old country road, and fol- 
low it to the east, until it meets the road to Danbury, 
when they wheel off toward the north, guided by 
two imps, Stephen Jarvis and Eli Benedict by name, 
born in Danbury under a malignant star. The enemy 
establish their quarters for the night about eight miles 
from their landing place, within the limits of the town 
of "Weston. When it was known that William Tryon 
commanded the expedition, its destination and objects 
were readily divined. He was the Tory governor of 
New York, and having a natural genius for such pur- 
suits, was armed by his masters with a firebrand instead 
of a sword, and employed as incendiary-general in a 
predatory war. Connecticut was the chosen field of 
his glory. In 1777, he burned Danbury; in 1778, 
Fairfield and Norwalk, and used the torch freely in 
a piratical inroad against New Haven, in 1779. He 
had fairly earned his enviable distinction. It was not 
from his own colony, but from Connecticut rebels, that 
the repose of his administration was most disquieted. 
Before his own constituents had spirit enough to drive 
him from the government, Wooster marched our militia 
into his capital, and flaunted "Qui transtulit sustinet" 
in his face. From aboard the Asia, to which he finally 
fled, he could see the "Sons of Liberty" from Con- 
necticut, that broke up the infamous press of his favor- 
ite Bivington, and for the first time inoculated New 
York with patriotism. He threatened a bombardment 
of the city if the troops from Fairfield County, under 
General David Waterbury, that went down to welcome 
Lord Howe upon his flight from Boston, were permitted 



366 MASONIC BIOGKAPHY. 

to enter, and the lukewarm Provincial Congress of 
New York echoed the threat. It was these timely 
visits that first introduced to His Excellency our hum- 
ble State, and drew upon us afterward such frequent 
tokens of. his remembrance. His present advent was 
the first return visit with which he had honored us, 
and was the more marked because it was the first time 
that a foreign invader had trod upon our soil. 

On the morning of the 26th, the quiet denizens of 
Beading on the Ridge open their eyes in wild astonish- 
ment at the unusual spectacle of red-coats filing through 
their streets, saluting the church, as they pass, with a 
volley of canister and grape, from musketry and cannon. 
Tryon meets with no serious opposition thus far. The 
grisly visages of age, and woman's frightened face, are 
all that gaze from the windows, as his proud array 
passes along. Every fencible man had early taken the 
old queen's-arm from the pegs on which it hung, and 
hastened away to where a more formal reception was in 
preparation. But as Tryon ascends Hoyt's Hill, a few 
miles from hence, a serious obstacle presents itself in 
his path. A solitary horseman appears upon the brow, 
directly in the line of march, and waving his sword and 
turning his head, as if backed up by a mighty army, 
exclaims, in a voice of thunder, " Halt, the whole Uni- 
verse ! wheel into kingdoms ! " The British come to 
a stand; flanking parties are sent out to investigate 
the precise position into which the " kingdoms have 
wheeled;" the two pieces of artillery are brought to 
bear upon "the Universe," when the solitary horse- 
man, outflanked by these maneuvers, slowly turns about 
and disappears. It was now about two o'clock in the 



DAVID WOOSTEE. 367 

afternoon ; the enemy had passed through Bethel, and 
were now entering the south end of Danbury, when the 
solemnity of the occasion was disturbed by another 
incident, serving to show that the comic and tragic 
thread are woven together in all human experience. 
A man by the name of Hamilton had on deposit, at a 
clothier's, in the lower part of the village, a piece of 
cloth, which he was determined at all hazards to rescue 
from sequestration. He accordingly rode to the shop, 
and having secured one end of the cloth to the pommel 
of his saddle, galloped rapidly away. But he was seen 
by the enemy's light-horsemen, who followed hard upon 
him, exclaiming, " We '11 have you, old daddy J we 11 
have you." " Not yet," said Hamilton, as he redoubled 
his speed. The troops gain upon their intended victim; 
the nearest one raises his saber to strike, when, fortu- 
nately, the cloth unrolls, and, fluttering like a streamer, 
far behind, so frightens the pursuing horses that they 
can not be brought within striking distance of the 
pursued. The chase continues through the whole ex- 
tent of the village to the bridge, where, finally, the 
old gentleman and the cloth made good their escape. 
Tryon established his head-quarters with a Tory by the 
name of Dibble, whose residence was at the south end 
of Main Street, and in close proximity to the public 
stores. As the light troops were escorting Erskine and 
Agnew, the brigadiers of the commanding general, to 
a house near the bridge, at the upper end of this street, 
four young men fired upon them from the dwelling of 
Major Starr, situated about forty rods above the present 
court-house. The British pursued, slew them and a 



368 MASONIC BIOGKAPHY. 

peaceable negro who was in their company, threw their 
bodies into the house, and set it on fire. 

The destruction of the public stores now commenced. 
The Episcopal Church was filled to the galleries with 
barrels of beef, pork, rice, wine, and rum. In order to 
save the building, these were removed into the street 
and consumed, and a white cross conspicuously marked 
upon the church, to protect it against the general con- 
flagration, which Tryon had already foreordained. The 
gutters run with the melting pork. The air is thick 
with the fumes of the burning beef. The liquids are 
only spared from the flames to be appropriated by the 
soldiers to their own immediate refreshment. The com- 
missioner of the army had, against his will, placed part 
of the provisions in the barn of Dibble, the Tory. These 
are also carefully removed to the street, the safety of 
the building insured by a cross, and the provisions 
spared, probably to be transferred to the loyalist, as rent 
for the forced occupation of his premises. But short 
work is made of another barn, used for the same pur- 
pose, but owned by a patriot. It was immediately set 
on fire and consumed, with all that it contained. The 
soldiers now begin to feel the effects of their free in- 
dulgence in rebel rum. They lurch as they walk ; they 
lie sprawling in the streets and the door-yards; but 
three hundred are fit for duty, as the curtain of night 
falls upon the indecencies of a general debauch. The 
firebrand had not yet been generally used; but the 
white cross, now seen distinctly on every Tory's dwell- 
ing, indicates clearly enough that those unprotected by 
it are already doomed. These faithful allies had inti- 



DAVID WOOSTER. 369 

mated to Tryon that the foe is gathering in the neigh- 
borhood. His sleep is far from tranquil. Early on the 
Sabbath morning, while it was yet dark, the signal is 
given, and, on a sudden, a lurid and unnatural glare 
chases night from the sky. The torch is carried from 
house to house, and from store to store. From the 
sacred recesses of home, from the roofs that guard the 
hard-earned savings of this frugal people, the fire breaks 
upon the surrounding darkness, and joins in the general 
havoc of the element. The aspiring tongues of flame 
climb and curl round the spire of the Congregational 
Church, until it totters and falls into the burning mass. 
The sun, as it rises, looks only upon the flickering em- 
bers of a once smiling village, save where here and 
there a solitary house stood unscathed, but branded 
with the indelible stigma of harboring only traitors 
to freedom. By the cold light of early dawn is seen, 
not the stealthy savage, but the disciplined army of a 
Christian king, stealing away from the desolation they 
had caused, and from the avenger on their heels, while 
the aged and the young, the sick, the helpless, and 
the infirm, gather round the smoldering ashes, for that 
warmth which is all that is left of the comforts of home. 
The intelligence of the enemy's landing was commu- 
nicated to Wooster, at New Haven, on the morning of 
the 26th. Arnold was fortunately there, on furlough, 
who, though finally a Judas, was* in mere bravery, sec- 
ond to no man in whom the breath of life was ever 
breathed. Both generals immediately proceed to the 
scene of operations. At Fairfield, they learn that Gen- 
eral Silliman had ordered all the militia that could be 
raised to rendezvous at Beading. They follow on, 



370 MASONIC BTOGKAPHY. 

spreading the alarm as they go, and soon arrived at Silli- 
man's head-quarters. With the forces there assembled, 
they pursue the enemy as far as Bethel, which they reach 
at eleven o'clock at night. Seven hundred undisciplined 
militia constitute their entire force. On the morning 
of the 27th, Arnold and Silliman are directed to take 
five hundred men and intercept Tryon in front, while 
Wooster, with the two hundred left, follows the enemy's 
track to worry and harass the rear. He soon comes 
up with them, and, aided by the broken and hilly 
ground, falls upon one of their regiments and captures 
forty prisoners. He again attacks them a few miles 
from Kidgefield. The British rear-guard, supported 
by two field-pieces, wheel to receive him. A sharp en- 
counter ensues. Wooster's troops deliver and receive 
several volleys, but the undisciplined handful soon 
stagger and fall back before the grape-shot that the ene- 
my's artillery scatter. The old veteran, more familiar 
with this iron hail, infuses his own steadfastness into his 
untried band, and as he is inciting them to a renewed 
onset, with the cheering words, " Come on, my boys, 
never mind such random shots," a ball, deliberately fired, 
as it is said, by a malignant Tory, who recognized his 
person, struck him obliquely in the back, breaking the 
bone as it passed, and burying itself in his body. He 
falls, fainting, from his horse. He is carried from the 
field on the sash which he wore in the battle. When 
the surgeon examined the wound, he did not disguise 
from Wooster that there was no hope for him this side 
of the grave. The tidings are received with the serene 
composure of one who had so recently shown, by a sig- 
nal contempt for life, how confidently he expected one 



DAVID WOOSTER. 371 

more blessed and glorious. He is removed to Danbury 
with the tender est care. His wife, who had been sum- 
moned, arrives, but not until the inflammation had ex- 
tended through the spinal column to the brain, and he 
could only look on the face he knew the best, and loved 
the most, with the wild, unrecognizing glare of de- 
lirium. Her tearful and impassioned appeals can ex- 
tort no sign of welcome. For three days he lies here 
in extreme agony, aggravated by the fruitless search 
of the surgeon's probe for the fatal bullet. On the 
morning of the 1st of May, the sudden cessation of pain 
indicates the commencement of that frightful process 
which destroys sensation while life still lingers — the 
unmistakable precursor of death. It was noted by her, 
who, faithful to the last, unremittingly watches his pil- 
low, that during this and the following day, (as is fre- 
quently the case in the closing scene of an active life,) 
his mind was busy in exciting reminiscence. By the 
feeble light of flickering reason, he was tracing the long 
and weary pilgrimage, the cruises, sieges, battles, 
marches, through which he had passed, only to reach 
the grave. The home of his childhood, the cabin of 
his ship, the old mansion by the Sound, pass in a 
blended image before his fading vision. The dash of 
waves, the rattle of musketry, the roar of cannon, 
ring confusedly in his deafened ear. His hand can not 
respond to the gentle pressure of affection. His breath- 
ing grows shorter and shorter, while the icy chill ad- 
vances nearer and nearer to the heart. As his wife 
wipes the death-damps from his brow, his eyes, hith- 
erto closed, open once more, and in their clear depths, 
for one glad moment, she discovers the dear, the old, 



372 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

the familiar expression of returned consciousness; his 
lips gasp in vain to utter one precious word of final 
adieu, and the last effort of his departing soul is to 
throw on her one farewell glance of unutterable ten- 
derness and love. Thus, on the 2d of May, 1777, in 
the service of the State to which his youth, his man- 
hood, and his age had been devoted, David Wooster 
died. Of the thirteen thousand sons which Connecti- 
cut gave to the French war, and of the thirty-one 
thousand which she gave to the Eevolution, he was 
among the foremost : equal to any in courage, in pa- 
triotism, in generosity, in zeal for liberty, and that 
true magnanimity which can forget all personal slights 
and affronts in her great cause ; second to Putnam, and 
to Putnam alone, in the length, variety, and hardship 
of his martial labors ; superior even to him in the glory 
of his final exit and the obscurity of his grave. Ex- 
hausting his means in the public service, he only be- 
queathed poverty to his family, and oblivion to his 
remains. Unrewarded, unrequited in life, in death he 
received a monument that was never built, ai\d an in- 
scription that was never engraved. 

We can not follow such a career, we can not stand by 
such a grave, without renewing our consecration vows 
to Freedom. By what a long century of conflict ; by 
what death struggles with earth's master-races, the 
Celt, the Gaul, and the Saxon; by what weariness of 
spirit, what agony of soul, what squandering of blood, 
has her fair inheritance been purchased ! 

" Freedom, thy brow 
Glorious in beauty though it be, is scarred 
With tokens of old wars ; thy massive limbs 



DAVID WOOSTEK. 373 

Are strong with struggling. Power at thee 

Has launched his bolts, and with his lightnings smitten thee : 

They could not quench the light thou hast from heaven. 

I not yet 
May'st thou unbrace thy corslet, nor lay by 
Thy sword ,• not yet, Freedom, close thy lids 
In slumber, for thine enemy never sleeps, 
And thou must watch and combat till the day 
Of the new earth and heaven." 

Congress afterward appropriated means to erect a 
monument over the grave of Wooster; but the money 
was placed in unfaithful hands, and the work was not 
done. A few years since, a distinguished American 
writer remarked, in relation to this martyr to liberty, 
" He sleeps among a recreant people, for no monument 
rises above his ashes." His native State felt keenly 
the merited rebuke, and measures were soon adopted to 
remove the reproach. It was determined to build a 
monument to his memory, at an expense of three thou- 
sand dollars, of which the Legislature appropriated 
fifteen hundred, the Grand Lodge furnished one thou- 
sand, and the citizens of Danbury raised the remainder. 
The body was originally buried in the old graveyard, 
now almost in the center of the town. A large and 
beautiful cemetery having been laid out on high ground 
to the north-west of the town, and named " Mount 
Moriah," the remains of Wooster were removed to a 
commanding spot in this new cemetery, and the monu- 
ment erected over them. It was dedicated with ma- 
sonic ceremonies by the Grand Lodge, on the 27th of 
April, 1854, on which occasion Bro. the Hon. Henry C. 
Deming, one of Connecticut's most talented sons, pro- 
nounced the eloquent oration, from which we have 
taken the foregoing sketch of Wooster. 



374 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

The sash which "Wooster wore at the time he received 
his death- wound, and the sword which he carried, were 
both exhibited to the audience after the oration of Bro. 
Deming was ended. They are both the property of 
Yale College, and, with his portrait, were presented in 
a letter from Admiral Wooster, of which the following 
is a copy : 

u Key. J. Day, President of Yale University : 

" Rev. Sir — As I shall soon leave this my native place, and there 
is much uncertainty as to my ever returning to it again, I beg you 
to receive, in behalf of the college, these three relics of my much 
respected grandfather, whose memory, I believe, is still cherished by 
every American patriot. His portrait I found, by mere chance, in 
the city of Santa Yago, the capital of Chili, in the year 1822. The 
sword is the same which he had drawn at the time when he fell in re- 
pelling the inroads of the enemy of our country; and the sash is that 
on which he was carried from the field, after receiving the wound 
which caused his death. 

"With feelings of high respect and esteem, 

" I remain, reverend sir, your obedient servant, 

"A. D. 1837. Charles W. Wooster." 

The monument is forty feet high. The base is eight 
feet square, and perfectly plain. The plinth is richly 
molded, and bears the name, Woostee, in raised let- 
ters. The die is five feet six inches square, and upon 
the front panel is a bas-relief representing the hero on 
horseback, and at the precise moment when, leading 
his men in pursuit of the retreating enemy, he is struck 
with the fatal bullet, and yields his life, bravely fight- 
ing for his country's freedom and glory. Upon the 
frieze, immediately over the bas-relief, and in raised let- 
ters, is the date of the action, Ridgefielp, 27th April, 
1777. Higher up on the plinth of the main shaft is 
sculptured, in high relief, the arms of Connecticut, 



DAVID WOOSTER. 375 

shrouded in drapery. The main shaft is ornamented 
by a trophy (also in relief,) which consists of a sword, 
sash, and epaulets, encircled and supported by a wreath 
of oak and laurel. The capital is highly ornate, and 
terminates in a half-globe, upon which the American 
eagle, with spread wings, is represented in the act of 
lighting, bearing the peace-branch and the wreath of 
victory. On the opposite side of the die and shaft are 
the emblems of Masonry, beautifully executed. 

The monument bears, among others, the following in- 
scription : 

BROTHER DAVID WOOSTER. 

Impressed, while a stranger in a foreign land, with the necessity of 

some tie that should unite all mankind in a 

UNIVERSAL BROTHERHOOD, 

He returned to his native country, and procured from the 

PROVINCIAL GRAND LODGE OP MASSACHUSETTS 

A CHARTER, 
And first introduced into Connecticut that Light which has warmed 

the widow's heart and illumined the orphan's pathway 

Under this Charter, in 1750, Hiram Lodge, No. 1, of New Haven, was 

organized, of which he was the first Worshipful Master. Grateful 

for his services as the Master Builder of their oldest Temple, 

for his fidelity as a brother, and his renown as a patriot 

and soldier, the Free and Accepted Masons have 

united with his native State and the citizens 

of Danbury, in rearing and consecrating 

this monument to his memory. 

Erected at Danbury, A. L. 5854, A. D. 1854. 

David Clark, G. Master. 

It is not known in what Lodge General Wooster was 
made a Mason • but it was probably in an army Lodge, 



376 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

or while in London, after the capture of Louisburg. It 
is enough now to know that he acted well his part, 
and had the distinguished honor of organizing and pre- 
siding over the first Lodge in his native State. "While 
Masonry is perpetuated or freedom prized, the name 
of Wooster will be held in grateful remembrance. 



ROBERT BURNS. 



32 



ROBERT BURNS. 



On arriving at the town of Ayr, in the west of 
Scotland, the tourist will at once be reminded that he 
is in the "Land of Burns;" and, perhaps, the first 
ragged boy he meets will offer his services to guide 
him to the spot where the poet was born. It is a 
pleasant walk, over a beautiful road, bordered by cot- 
tages and green hedges, and presenting a most pic- 
turesque scene of rural thrift and beauty. About 
two miles from the town, and just before you reach 
the river Doon, on your right hand, and within sight 
of "Alloway's auld haunted kirk," you will find what 
is known in Scotland as a "clay biggin" — a small, 
one-storied cottage of two rooms, roughly plastered on 
the outside, and whitewashed to make it presentable 
to the stranger. In one of the little rooms of that 
unpretending homestead, on the 25th day of January, 
1759, was born Kobert Burns, the Poet-Mason, whose 
native genius became the boast of Scotland, eclipsing, 
as it did, nine-tenths of the magnates of the realm; 
and whose songs are still on the rosy lips of childhood 

(379) 



380 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

and the tongue of trembling age, wherever the English 
language is spoken. Three and a half years later, on 
the 12th of August, 1762, was born the Prince of 
Wales, afterward George the Fourth. The latter now 
sleeps in a royal tomb, in London ; the other, in a quiet 
church-yard, in the town of Dumfries. The royal heir 
is almost forgotten, save in kingly annals; while each 
passing century shrines the poor Ayrshire poet more 
sacredly in the world's affections, and adds a greenness 
to the wreath which adorns his tomb. 

The original family name of the poet was Burness, 
and it was so written until the poet grew up to man- 
hood, and was about to venture on the publication of 
the first edition of his poems, when, his father being 
dead, he concluded to contract it into Burns, and send 
it to the world as the name of an author; and there is 
not a heart in Scotland, or scarcely among Anglo-Sax- 
ons the world over, but has thrilled with rapture at its 
mentioning. His father, William Burness, was a gar- 
dener in Kincardineshire, but, while yet a young man, 
settled on the Doon, where, at the age of thirty-six, he 
wooed and won the heart and hand of a sweet Scotch 
lassie, in humble life like himself, by the name of Agnes 
Brown. They were both poor, but industrious and of 
spotless character. Taking a lease on six acres of 
ground, suitable for a nursery and garden, he built a 
house on it with his own hands, into which he removed 
his young bride, and began the hard struggle of life, 
with little in prospect but labor and poverty. It was 
a cheerless path that lay before him ; but he had a firm 
purpose, an active faith in a superintending Providence, 
a brave heart, and a strong arm. Though his house 



ROBERT BURNS. 381 

was but a cottage, and that of the rudest kind, yet it 
was cheered by the presence of his heart's treasures, 
and to him it became a paradise. With no capital but 
an unstained character, and the will and capacity to 
labor, he began the toils of life with a cheerful heart, 
for he had wedded love for his dowry, and domestic 
happiness as his richest revenue. 

Eobert Burns was bred to a farmer's life, under the 
eye of his strict Calvinistic father, until he reached the 
years of manhood. He early manifested a taste for 
poetry and song, and soon began to write verses in his 
own simple Scotch dialect, into which he breathed all 
the enthusiasm of his young and impassioned soul. 
He gives an amusing account of the first development 
of his genius, and from what source he acquired the 
rudiments of his education. In a letter to the poet 
Moore he thus describes it: 

" I owed much to an old woman (Jenny Wilson) who 
resided in the family, remarkable for her credulity and 
superstition. She had a large collection of tales and 
songs concerning devils, ghosts, fairies, brownies, 
witches, warlocks, spunkies, kelpies, elf-candles, dead- 
lights, wraiths, apparitions, cantraps, giants, enchanted 
towers, dragons, and other trumpery. This cultivated 
the latent seeds of poesy; but had so strong an effect 
upon my imagination, that, to this hour, in my noc- 
turnal rambles, I sometimes keep a look-out on suspici- 
ous places." 

This will, doubtless, account for so much of the 
supernatural in his productions in after-life. During 
his labor in the fields, and when driving his cart from 
place to place, he generally had a collection of songs 



382 MASONIC BIOGEAPHY. 

about him — the simple ballads of the country— -for he 
either could not appreciate more refined and elevated 
literature, or it was beyond his reach. Poetry, though 
of a rude kind, seemed to constitute hi3 intellectual 
nutriment, and his mind grew and expanded by it, 
until he became a poet himself. His soul was natu- 
rally strung to music; and his genius struggled like an 
imprisoned bird for freedom and utterance. Added to 
nature's own inspirations, his mother was in the habit 
of reciting songs in his presence, and sometimes she 
would sing them, until the young poet's imagination 
would be kindled, and his soul swell with rapture, and 
he would long to be a poet, to write and sing his own 
songs, and give expression to the wild enthusiasm of 
his own warm heart. 

Burns had other sources of inspiration, even at an 
early age. Female charms exercised "a bewitching 
influence over him. He says, in his letter already 
referred to : " You know our country custom of coupling 
a man and woman together as partners in the labors of 
harvest. In my sixteenth autumn my partner was a 
bewitching creature, a year younger than myself; she 
was, in truth, a bonnie, sweet lass, and, unwittingly to 
herself, initiated me in that delicious passion which, in 
spite of acid disappointment, gin-house prudence, and 
book-worm philosophy, I hold to be the first of human 
joys. How she caught the contagion I can not tell ; 
I never expressly said I loved her; indeed, I did not 
know myself why I liked so much to loiter behind with 
her, when returning in the evenings from our labors; 
why the tones of her voice made my heart-strings thrill 
like an Eolian harp, and particularly why my pulse 



ROBERT BURNS. 383 

beat such a furious ratan when I looked and fingered 
over her little hand, to pick out the cruel nettle-stings 
and thistles. Among other love-inspiring qualities, she 
sang sweetly, and it was her favorite reel to which I 
attempted to give an embodied vehicle in rhyme : thus 
with me began love and verse." Thus his intercourse 
with, and his love for, the fairer portion of creation, 
was at once the power which awakened his precocious 
genius, and the tempter that lured him into danger. 
You will remember that Burns was now but sixteen. 

So Burns grew up a farmer, but interweaving with 
his toils episodes of love and song — poetry and rev- 
elry — with an occasional brief attendance at school. A 
part of one summer he spent at Kirkeswald, " learning 
mensuration and land-surveying, where he mingled in 
scenes of sociality with smugglers, and enjoyed the 
pleasures of a silent walk under the moon, with the 
young and beautiful." In the year 1781, when about 
twenty-two years of age, he went to Irvine, to learn 
the business of flax-dressing with a distant relative. 
He was now removed from under the eye and re- 
straint of his pious father, and he gave free scope to 
his love of jollity and pleasure. During the day he 
would labor diligently to acquire a knowledge of the 
business he had selected for his vocation, but "at night 
he associated with the gay and the thoughtless, with 
whom he learned to empty his glass, and indulge in 
free discourse on topics forbidden at Lochlea." His so- 
cial nature and jovial disposition were too strong for his 
sense of propriety. He could not endure restraint, and 
he was rapidly forming those habits which became 
the bane of his life, ruined his constitution, and ulti- 



384 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

mately, at the age of thirty-seven, hastened him to a 
premature grave. 

Judging from the tenor of a letter still extant, he 
was, at times, deeply conscious of his errors, and endeav- 
ored to conceal them from his father ; at the same time 
he had not sufficient moral courage to abjure the so- 
ciety he was so fond of, or restrain his passions within 
proper bounds. His condition, at this time, is well 
expressed in the following lines : 

" I know the right, and I approve it, too ; 
I see the wrong, and yet the wrong pursue." 

Yet it would seem he was trying to form resolutions 
of amendment, and struggling against the tide that he 
foresaw was bearing him on to ruin. 

He was now in the twenty-second year of his age, 
and it was time he should settle down into the sober 
duties of manhood. He had been some time engaged in 
the business of flax-dressing, but, on the following New 
Year, they must needs welcome the season by a ca- 
rousal in the establishment, which resulted in the shop 
taking fire, and the morning found him, as he jocularly 
expressed it, " like a true poet — not worth a sixpence." 
Either just previous to his removal from Lochlea, or 
soon after the catastrophe which sent him back penni- 
less to his father's house, he was made a Freemason in 
St. James's Lodge, at Torbolton. It was, unfortunately, 
too much the practice, in those days, for the members 
of Lodges to spend a season, after the Lodge was closed, 
in feasting, drinking, and revelry. From early times, 
the Craft, in all countries, have observed the natal days 
of their patron saints by a feast; and gradually the 



ROBERT BURNS. 385 

practice came to be abused by being more frequently 
introduced, until it succeeded almost every meeting of 
the Lodge. As they mostly met at taverns, drinking 
followed eating, and festivities were kept up until a 
very late hour. Thus habits were sometimes formed 
which proved ruinous in after-life— growing, by degrees, 
upon the thoughtless victim, until humanity wept over 
the ruin which these pernicious practices had induced. 
It is much to be feared that this custom aided in un- 
dermining the moral constitution of the young poet, 
and of confirming him in those habits of festivity which 
unfitted him for that systematic and persevering devo- 
tion to duty which his position in life required. His 
brilliant mind flashed out prematurely under these 
excitements, and then faded into darkness ere it had 
reached its noon-tide glory. 

The disaster we have just alluded to was soon after 
followed by one much more severe : his father died. 
Robert, being the eldest son, was now regarded as the 
head of the family, and to him they looked for direc- 
tion under these trying circumstances. His proceeding 
is thus described by Allan Cunningham: 

"He gathered together the little that law and mis- 
fortune had spared, and took the farm of Mossgiel, 
near Mauchline, containing one hundred and eighteen 
acres, at a rent of ninety pounds a year. His mother 
and sisters took the domestic superintendence of home, 
barn, and byre, and he associated his brother Gilbert 
with him in the labors of the land. The poet was 
young, willing, and vigorous, and excelled in plowing, 
sowing, reaping, mowing, and thrashing. He was 
careful and frugal; purchased books on farming, and 
33 



386 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

took advice from the old and knowing. But lie was 
not to become a mighty agriculturist. The dreams of 
Burns were of the muses, and not of rising markets; 
of golden locks, rather than of yellow corn." 

His appearance and mode of living at this time, 
when his genius began to attract attraction, is described 
by his own countryman, already quoted, most graphic- 
ally. "His clothes, coarse and homely, were made 
from home-grown wool, shorn off his own sheep's 
backs, carded and spun at his own fireside, woven by 
the village weaver, and dyed in the village vat. They 
were shaped and sewed by the district tailor, and as 
the wool was coarse, so, also, was the workmanship. The 
linen which he wore was home-grown, home-hackled, 
home-spun, home-woven, and home-bleached, and was 
of course strong yarn, to suit the wear and tear of "barn 
and field. His shoes were armed, sole and heel, with 
heavy, broad-headed nails, to endure the clod and the 
road. His head was covered with a broad blue bonnet, 
with a stopple on its flat crown, known in all lands by 
the name of scone bonnets. His plaid was a handsome 
red-and-white check — for pride in poets, he said, was 
no sin — prepared with more than common care by the 
hands of his mother and sister. His dwelling was in 
keeping with his dress: a low, thatched house, with 
a kitchen, a bed-room, and a closet, with floors of 
kneaded clay, and ceilings of moorland turf; a few 
books on a shelf; a few hams drying above-head in 
the smoke, which was in no haste to get out at the 
roof, a wooden settle, some oak chairs, chaff beds well 
covered with blankets, with a fire of peat and wood 
burning on the middle of the floor. His food consisted 



ROBERT BURNS. 387 

chiefly of oatmeal porridge and potatoes and milk." 
And yet this was the man who, in less than ten years 
after, was the idol, as well of the peasantry as of the 
aristocracy, of Scotland — whom her poets and philoso- 
phers, her learned professors and high-born nobles 
were anxious to honor and reverence. 

Burns began writing verses at sixteen years of age ; 
but they were mere rhymes, with little of poetry or ele- 
vated sentiment about them. They were mostly the 
utterances of his heart, inspired by the beauty and 
attractions of his youthful associates of the fairer sex. 
As his mind matured, his verses improved, and before 
he had reached the age of manhood he had written 
poetry of which the most gifted of Scotland's sons 
would have been proud to acknowledge the author- 
ship. 

He is described, at this period, as " tall, young, good- 
looking, with dark, bright eyes, and words and wit at 
will." In one of the " Centenary Poems," written to 
commemorate him, in 1857, there is an apostrophe to 
Burns, which describes him fully in a single line: 

" You great, strong man, with woman's soul, and heart of a little ' 
child!" 

This brief description gives us a better idea of the 
young and gifted poet, his rare attractions, and the 
consequent dangers that beset his way, than a volume 
of labored delineation. His path was a blooming one, 
but thorns grew all along it, and death lurked in many 
a rosy bower! What a misfortune that he had not 
been better educated, both in head and heart; that 
some more of the stern, moral virtues, so peculiar to 



383 MASONIC BIOG-EAPHY. 

his countrymen, had not mingled in the elements of 
his character! Then might his moral influence have 
been as effective for good as his meteor-like thoughts 
were dazzling and attractive; then might the glory 
which still clings to the memory of his genius have 
been as pure as it is bright. We must condemn his 
follies, while we weep over the circumstances by which 
he was entangled in their mazes. 

There were 'times when Burns struggled hard for a 
higher position. He was very industrious, attentive to 
his farm, procured and read useful books, and seemed 
resolved to fit himself for a different position in life, 
Fortune, too, for awhile smiled on him, and his flocks 
and harvests, by a favoring Providence and propitious 
seasons, yielded him encouraging returns for his care 
and toil. In the summer of 1784, his health failed, 
which seriously alarmed him for awhile, for he began 
to look upon a speedy dissolution as very probable. 
The religious element in his character, which he had 
imbibed from the instructions of his excellent father, 
was now fully awakened, and Burns gave signs of sin- 
cere repentance and thorough reformation. It was at 
this time, and with such feelings, that he wrote some 
stanzas, one of which we quote as indicating the feelirgs 
of his heart : 

"0, thou great Governor of all below! 

If I may dare a lifted eye to thee ! 
Thy nod can make the tempest cease to blow, 

Or still the tumult of the raging sea : 
With that controlling power assist even me 

Those headlong, furious passions to confine ; 
For all unfit I feel my powers to be, 

To rule their torrent in the allowed line; 

0, aid me with thy help, Omnipotence Divine!" 



ROBERT BURNS. 389 

This lasted as long as he was sick; but with recov- 
ered health his social spirit returned upon him with 
increased power, and led him a captive into other ex- 
cesses. I have already referred to his masonic affilia- 
tion, and expressed a fear that, in consequence of the 
prevailing habits of the times, this connection was not 
favorable to his moral improvement. The history of 
his masonic relations is thus described : 

" The St. James's Torbolton Lodge, ISTo. 178, was con- 
stituted by a charter from Kilwinning, in 1771. A 
number of members left the St. James's in 1773, and 
formed themselves into the St. David's Lodge. A 
union of the two again took place on the 25th of June, 
1781, and it was agreed that the one Lodge then con- 
stituted should bear the name of St. David's — probably 
a compliment or concession designed to please the schis- 
matic body. Burns was admitted an apprentice in this 
Torbolton Lodge, styled St. David's, on the 4th of July, 
and passed and raised on the 1st of October, 1781. A 
new disruption took place in June, 1782, and the separ- 
ating body then reconstituted St. James's Lodge. Burns 
was of this party, and thenceforward his name is found 
only in the books of the distinct St. James's Lodge. 
It would, therefore, appear that, though entered in 
what was nominally the St. David's Lodge, he does 
not properly belong to the detached Lodge now bear- 
ing that name, but to the Lodge distinctly called 
St. James's, which he has immortalized in verse." 

The presiding officer at Burns's initiation was Alex- 
ander Wood, a tailor residing at Torbolton. It will be 
remembered that Burns removed from Lochlea early in 
1784, or late in 1783. On the 27th of July, 1784,* his 



390 MASONIC BIOGEAPHY. 

name appears on the minutes of the Lodge as " Depute 
Master," (an office peculiar to the Scotch Lodges in the 
last century,) and in that capacity his name appears on 
the minutes for two or three of the succeeding years. 
Mossgiel, where he resided at this time, was four miles 
from the place where the Lodge met, yet he seems to 
have been a regular attendant : the social spirit pre- 
vailing among the Craft doubtless being sufficient to 
attract the poet to their place of resort, and its enjoy- 
ment a full compensation for eight miles of travel after 
the labors of the day ! Burns's amusing poem on 
" Death and Dr. Hornbook " had its origin in one of 
these meetings. The latter personage was a Mr. John 
Wilson, who was also a member of the Lodge at Tor- 
bolton. He was the schoolmaster of the parish, and 
kept a small shop of groceries in the village. Having 
fallen in with some medical books, he conceived a strong 
passion for the study of that science. This led him to 
add medicines to his stock in trade, and, to make them 
sell more readily, he advertised that he would give 
" advice in common disorders gratis." He was a man 
of infinite self-conceit, and not overburdened with 
knowledge or prudence, which made his company by 
no means agreeable. It was in the fall of 1785, at a 
meeting of the Lodge, that Burns and "Wilson had a 
dispute about some matter, " in which the poor dominie 
brought forward his therapeutics somewhat offensively." 
On his way home that night Burns composed his famous 
poem on " Death and Dr. Hornbook," in which poor 
Wilson is most unmercifully satirized. He represents 
a meeting between himself and Death, and details a 
long conversation between them, in which " Dr. Horn- 



ROBERT BURNS. 391 

book," alias John Wilson, is described as interposing 
between the grim monster and his victims with 



fl some new, uncommon weapons — 

Urinus Spiritus of Capons ; 

Or mite-horn shavings, filings, scrapings, 

Distilled per se; 
Sal-alkali o' midge-tail clippings, 
And mony mae." 

But the stern tyrant declares that Dr. Hornbook had 
been a much better friend to the sexton than he had 
been: 

""Where I killed ane a fair strae death, 
By loss o' blood or want o' breath, 
This night I 'm frae to tak my aith, 

That Hornbook's skill 
Has clad a score i' their last claith 

By drap and pill." 

Burns represents himself as sitting very composedly 
alongside his grim majesty, and listening to his details 
of Dr. Hornbook's achievements in medical practice, 
until 

" The auld kirk-hammer strak the bell 
Some wee short hour ayont the twal, 

Which raised us baith ; 
I took the way that pleased mysel', 

And sae did Death." 

"We shall not attempt to trace the gradual develop- 
ment of Burns's mind as he proceeded from stage to 
stage in revealing that genius which has made his name 
immortal. Up to his twenty-sixth year he had hardly 
thought of writing for the public eye. His business 
was farming; unwearied toil his lot; and he thought 



392 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

of poetry only as amusement, or to give expression to 
his likes and dislikes. 

About this period, however, a change came over 
the spirit of Burns. His mind seemed to expand and 
grapple with larger ideas; his genius blazed out with 
a brilliancy which astonished his friends; and there 
seemed to be a power about him which was felt and 
acknowledged by the learned and intelligent. 

The harvest of 1785 was. a sad failure, and the poet, 
with his young brother, Gilbert, began to have serious 
doubts about their success in life at the business they 
were then engaged in. Robert, too, began to be conscious 
of his power as a poet ; and the dark cloud that rested on 
his worldly prospects may have turned his attention to 
a more careful estimate of his mental powers, and proba- 
bly induced efforts to which, until now, he had been a 
stranger. About this time he wrote " The Cotter's Sat- 
urday Night," and repeated it to a friend during a 
walk on a Sunday afternoon. His friend declared he 
"was electrified" by it, and that two or three of the 
stanzas, especially, " thrilled with ecstasy through his 
soul." This, probably, increased the poet's appreciation 
of his own budding gifts, and suggested the possibility 
of poetry being the means of mending his fortunes ; for 
the drudgery of a plowman's life, the poverty of soil, 
high rents, and ungenial seasons gave little promise of 
future ease, or of a competency in declining years. 

He was offered, about this time, a situation as clerk 
on a gentleman's estate in the island of Jamaica, and 
he determined to accept it. He therefore gave up his 
interest in the farm to his brother, and began prepara- 
tions for his voyage to the West Indies. In the mean 



ROBERT BURNS. 393 

time, however, his pen was active, and poem after 
poem was written, as though, the Castalian fount had 
developed new resources — fresh, sparkling, and inex- 
haustible. He astonished his friends; he astonished 
himself, and soon became conscious of his own won- 
drous power — that at last the superincumbent rubbish 
had been removed, and he could now work the dis- 
covered mine with honor, at least, and, possibly, with 
profit. 

Before leaving Scotland he determined to publish a 
volume of his poems. He had obtained subscriptions 
for three hundred and fifty copies, but he ventured on 
an edition of six hundred. The little venture was suc- 
cessful, and, after deducting all expenses, he realized a 
profit of about one hundred dollars. This would pay 
his way to the West Indies, and he took a steerage 
passage in the first ship that was to sail. His chest 
was already on the way to the vessel; he had bidden 
farewell to the members of his Lodge, by writing that 
immortal song beginning with — 

" Adieu — a heart- warm, fond adieu," 

and had uttered the last "good-by" to friends, when 
a letter from one of the first literary men in Edinburg 
overthrew all his schemes, by opening new prospects to 
his poetic ambition at home. By chance, a copy of his 
little volume of poems had fallen into the hands of Dr. 
Blacklock, who was so impressed with the wondrous 
talents of the author, that he immediately wrote him 
to come to Edinburg and prosecute his literary labors : 
and to Edinburg he went. 

A brighter day seemed now dawning upon the strug- 



394 MASONIC BIOGEAPHY. 

gling poet ; the dark clouds that had so long rested upon 
his path were passing away, and the future, sunny and 
bright as a Persian's dream of heaven, opened before 
him. Unfortunate Burns ! With plenty of good reso- 
lutions, and an innate longing after the pure and the 
beautiful, he desired to tread in the path of honor and 
goodness ; but the very blandness and geniality of his 
disposition was the tempter whose persuasions he could 
not resist. How the heart of Philanthropy throbs for 
him, just here; and how gladly would Compassion 
snatch him away from the thousand snares in his path ! 
But we must go back a little, if we would have a fair 
exhibit of the man, and see how well he proved that 
"to subdue the passions and act upon the square" is 
the only path of honor and safety. 

It has already been intimated that the heart of the 
gifted poet was easily affected by the charms of gentle 
woman ; indeed, most of the errors of his life had their 
source in the impressibility of his nature. He loved — 

" Not wisely, but too well," 

and the consequences embittered his days, planted 
thorns in his pillow, and came near sending him to the 
distant Indies, to become food for the fevers, or the 
victim of vain regrets. 

About the beginning of 1785 he saw — and loved — 
Jean Armor, the daughter of a strict, stern, Calvinistic 
farmer, in the vicinity of Mossgiel. She was sweet 
eighteen, with brilliant eyes, handsome in person, and 
a tongue of purest melody. His affection was ardently 
reciprocated, and the lovers were sincere in their at- 
tachment ; but her father belonged to that party in the 



ROBERT BURNS. 395 

Church against which Burns had written some severe 
satirical verses, and he sternly declined to give his 
consent to their union; and so incensed was he at the 
idea of his daughter's marriage with one who was a 
Freemason, and was considered profane in speech, and 
otherwise not blameless in morals, that he compelled 
her to renounce her lover. This was a severe blow to 
Burns, and came near upsetting his reason, for he loved 
her with all the ardor of his passionate nature. 

The consequences of this estrangement from one whom 
he loved so tenderly were sad, indeed ; and his condition 
was such as to excite for him the deepest sympathy. 
He gave up his interest in the farm, as we have already 
stated, and roamed about the country, in a gloomy and 
desponding state of mind. He offered every thing in 
his power — he was willing to leave his Jean, go to the 
West Indies, to better, if possible, his condition, and, 
that accomplished, to come back and claim his bride. 
But the father was inexorable, and Jean, at last, was 
half-willing to renounce her affianced altogether. This 
drove him almost to the verge of insanity, and he re- 
solved at once to fly to the Indies. 

But he was destitute of means, and how to pay his 
passage was a question which loomed up like a mount- 
ain-barrier in his way. He did not then dream that in 
the old stand-drawer at Mossgiel there were songs and 
manuscripts of his own composition, which, if once put 
in print, would not only bring him means to pay his 
way to a distant land, but hand his name down to 
immortality, as one of the first poets of Scotland. A 
judicious friend, of whom he asked counsel in his ex- 
tremity, advised him to revise and publish his poems. 



396 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

It was a new thought to Burns, and he caught at it at 
once. The scattered manuscripts were gathered up; 
the old stand-drawer was compelled to yield its treas- 
ures ; the songs were revised ; a few others were added, 
and, in a little time, the volume appeared. Its reception 
is thus described by a Scottish author : 

" Had a summer sun risen on a winter morning, it 
could not have surprised the Lowlands of Scotland 
more than this volume surprised and delighted the 
people, one and all. The milkmaid sung his songs ; 
the plowman repeated his poems ; the old quoted both ; 
and even the devout rejoiced that idle verse had, at last, 
mixed a tone of morality with its mirth. ' Keep it out 
of the way of your children,' said a Cameronian divine, 
' lest ye find them, as I found mine — reading it on the 
Sabbath ! ' The poems were mostly on topics with 
which they were familiar; the language was that of 
the fireside, raised above the vulgarities of common life 
by a purifying spirit of expression and the exalting 
fervor of its inspiration. And then there was such 
a brilliant and graceful mixture of the elegant and 
the homely, the lofty and the low, the familiar and 
the elevated ; such a rapid succession of scenes which 
moved to tenderness or tears — to subdued mirth or open 
laughter ; unlooked-for allusions to Scripture, or touches 
of sarcasm or scandal; of superstitions to scare, and 
of humor to delight ; while through the whole was dif- 
fused, as the scent of flowers through summer air, a 
moral meaning, a sentimental beauty, which sweetened 
and sanctified all." 

But we must turn, just here, to another episode in 
the life of Burns. Renounced by Jean Armor, to whom 



. EOBEET BUKNS, 397 

he was so devoted, and spurned by her father on account 
of his poverty, and as the author of " Holy Willie," etc., 
he obeyed the impulse of his nature, which yearned for 
affection, and turned to another. Mary Campbell was 
a " Highland lassie" — "a sweet, sprightly, blue-eyed 
creature, of a firm modesty and self-respect." He had 
probably met her before, as she was living near by, and 
was attracted by her gentle loveliness. Rejected by the 
Armors, his affection turned to his " Highland Mary " 
with all the force of a mountain torrent. They met 
again, and exchanged their pledges of affection and 
constancy. Mary was on the eve of returning to her 
friends in the Highlands, and it is most probable that a 
union was agreed upon, to take place at a future day. 
The lovers had a farewell meeting in a retired spot near 
the banks of the Ayr. " Their adieu was performed 
with all those simple and striking ceremonials which 
rustic sentiment has devised to prolong tender emotions. 
The lovers stood on each side of a small, purling brook ; 
they laved their hands in the limpid stream, and, hold- 
ing a Bible between them, pronounced their vows to 
be faithful to each other. They exchanged Bibles as 
mutual pledges, she giving him a small, plain one, while 
he presented her with an elegant copy in two volumes." 
The latter I have seen. On the fly-leaf of the first 
volume is inscribed, in Burns's handwriting: "And ye 
shall not swear by my name falsely — I am the Lord." 
On the other : " Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but 
shall perform unto the Lord thine oath." On another 
leaf his name is inscribed, together with his Mason- 
mark. The lovers parted : it was their last interview 
on earth ! She returned to her family, and died sud- 



398 MASONIC BIOGKAPHY. 

denly, in the following October, at Greenock, as she 
was returning to the Lowlands to meet her engage- 
ment. 

It was long after Burns was married, and on the 
recurrence of the anniversary of the death of his High- 
land love, that he wrote that remarkable address, u To 
Mary in Heaven." He had been thoughtful and de- 
jected all day. In the evening he went out and lay 
down by the side of one of his own corn-ricks, where, 
in the chill midnight air, with his eyes fixed on a 
" bright, particular star," his wife found him, and with 
difficulty persuaded him to return to the house. But 
the address to Mary was already composed, and he had 
only to reduce it to writing. I can only quote a part 
of it: 

" That sacred hour can I forget — 

Can I forget the hallowed grove, 
Where by the winding Ayr we met, 

To live one day of parting love ! 
Eternity can not efface 

Those records dear of transports past ; 
Thy image at our last embrace — ■ 

Ah I little thought we 't was our last 1 

"Ayr, gurgling, kiss'd his pebbled shore,' 

O'erhung with wild-woods thick'ning green ; 
The fragrant birch and hawthorn hoar 

Twin'd am'rous round the raptur'd scene ; 
The flowers sprang wanton to be press'd, 

The birds sang love on every spray, 
Till too, too soon the glowing west 

Proclaimed the speed of winged day. 

"Still o'er those scenes my mem'ry wakes, 
And fondly broods with miser care ! 
Time but the impression stronger makes, 
As streams their channels deeper wear. 



ROBERT BURNS. 399 

My Mary, dear departed shade I 

Where is thy place of blissful rest? 
Seest thou thy lover lowly laid ? 

Hearest thou the groans that rend his breast ? " 

Mary lies buried in the yard of an ancient church, in 
Greenock, in a now thickly-populated part of the town. 
Some years since the Freemasons of that place erected 
a very beautiful monument above her grave, and on 
the front of it is inscribed the last stanza of the above. 

Time wore on; the poems were in press, and Burns 
was only anxious that the book should bring him 
enough to take him from the country, for the Indies 
seemed to be his only refuge from despair. In the 
mean time he was winding up his affairs, bidding fare- 
well to friends, and gradually preparing to sever him- 
self from all he held dear in Scotland. His masonic 
ties were the last to be severed — to his masonic friends 
the last adieu was to be given; for his heart clung to 
the Craft with the fondness of a child to its departing 
mother ! It was, probably, at the June Festival, 1785, 
that he gave his memorable 

FAREWELL TO THE BRETHREN OF ST. JAMES'S LODGE. 

" Adieu — a heart- warm, fond adieu ! 

Dear brothers of the mystic tie ! 
Ye favored, ye enlightened few, 

Companions of my social joy; 
Though I to foreign lands must hie, 

Pursuing Fortune's slidd'ry ba', 
With melting heart and brimful eye, 

I '11 mind you still, though far awa. 

M Oft have I met your social band, 

And spent the cheerful, festive night j 
Oft, honored with supreme command, 
Presided o'er the Sons of Light : 



400 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

And by that hieroglyphic bright, 

Which none but Craftsmen ever saw, 

Strong memory on my heart shall write 
Those happy scenes when far awa. 

" May Freedom, Harmony, and Love 

Unite you in the grand design, 
Beneath the Omnicient Eye above — 

The glorious Architect Pivine ! 
That you may keep th' unerring line, 

Still rising by the plummet's law, 
Till Order bright completely shine, 

Shall be my prayer when far awa. 

And you, farewell ! whose merits claim 

Justly that highest badge to wear 1 
Heaven bless your honored, noble name, 

To Masonry and Scotia dear I 
A last request permit me here, 

"When yearly ye assemble a', 
One round — I ask it with a tear — 

To him, the bard that's far awa." 

It was while Burns was watching his poems through 
the press, and making his preliminary arrangements to 
leave Scotland, that he attended a meeting of the Kil- 
marnock Lodge, at which place his book was being 
printed. His mind was pressed with care, anxiety, and 
vexation, but when surrounded by his brethren of the 
Order he seemed to throw off his burdens and was 
himself again. On the occasion alluded to, he produced 
the following address to the members of the Lodge : 

" Ye sons of old Killie, assembled by Willie 

To follow the noble vocation ; 
Your thrifty old mother has scarce such another 

To sit in that honored station. 
I 've little to say, but only to pray, 

As praying 's the ton of your fashion ; 
A prayer from the muse you well may excuse, 

*T is seldom her favorite passion. 



ROBERT BURNS. 401 

"Ye powers who preside o'er the wind and the tide, 

Who marked each element's border j 
"Who formed this frame with beneficent aim, 

Whose sovereign statute is Order : 
Within this dear mansion may wayward contention 

Or withered envy ne'er enter ; 
May secrecy round be the mystical bound, 

And brotherly love be the center." 

The last four lines of the above stanzas are singularly 
appropriate, and most touchingly beautiful. None but 
Burns could have uttered such poetry, blended with 
such a felicity of sentiment. 

I can not forbear to note another incident in the 
poet's life, which occurred during the summer of 1785, 
and soon after his poems made their appearance in 
print. It reveals the heart of Burns in a better light, 
and forms a bright, sunny spot in the dark pilgrimage 
of that eventful summer. 

A few miles from Mossgiel lived the Rev. George 
Lawrie, minister of the parish of Loudon. He was a 
superior man, had a warm heart, a cultivated mind, and 
knew how to appreciate the talents, while he wept for 
the follies of the wayward Burns. He was delighted 
with the poems of the rustic bard, and took measures 
to have them brought to the notice of leading literary 
men in Edinburg. Soon after, Burns paid a visit to 
the minister at his own house, where he was received 
with great cordiality, and remained all night. Mr. 
Lawrie had an amiable wife and most interesting fam- 
ily of children. They spent a very pleasant evening, 
when Burns retired to his chamber. He was late com- 
ing down next morning, and the son was sent to call 
him to breakfast. He met the bard on the stairs, and 
34 



402 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

asked how lie had slept. "Not well/' replied Burns, 
"the fact is, I have been praying half the night. If 
you go up to my room you will find my prayers on the 
table." He went, and found, in several stanzas, a prayer 
for the family — father, mother, brother, sisters — written 
in most fervent language, and breathing the very spirit 
of earnest invocation. As a specimen, I give the closing 
stanza, all I have room to give, referring to the entire 
family : 

" When, soon or late, they reach that coast, 
O'er life's rough ocean driven, 
May they rejoice, no wanderer lost — 
A family in heaven I " 

"We have rarely seen any thing so exquisitely beautiful 
as these lines. It would seem that the prayer was 
breathed from the heart of love itself, and must — must 
be answered. 

But the poems were out, and in cottage, manse, and 
hall were read with unmixed admiration. The heart 
of Scotland gave back an answering throb to the deep 
emotions that breathed in his numbers. The entire 
edition was sold off in a few weeks, and the poet had 
now means to take him to the Indies. Scotland was a 
land of shadows to him: Jean had cast him off; his 
Highland Mary was in her grave ; and poverty and mis- 
fortune were crowding close at his heels. He engaged 
his passage, sent forward his chest, and wrote his last 
song, when a letter from Edinburg arrested his prog- 
ress, and changed his destiny for life. 

This letter was to the poor poet like the shout of 
"land!" from the mast-head to the bewildered and 
storm-beaten mariner. But how was he to reach that 



ROBERT BURNS. 403 

Mecca of his hopes, unless on foot? He finally bor- 
rowed a pony from a friend, and started. It was a 
two-days ride; and midway, in a quiet valley, lived a 
well-to-do Scotch farmer, who was a great admirer of 
Burns. The poet sent him word that he would pass the 
night with him on his way, and the old farmer arranged 
with his neighbors that he would give a signal to call 
them together, should the poet come to spend the even- 
ing with him. About sunset he arrived. A white 
sheet, attached to a pitchfork, was immediately planted 
on the top of a corn-stack, which was seen from every 
house in the parish, and soon the sturdy yeomen gath- 
ered to the central point of attraction. There was a 
merry meeting that night at the house of Mr. Prentice, 
and Burns won all hearts by the charms of his conver- 
sation. This Mr. Prentice was a fine specimen of the 
Scots in the olden days; a man of great physical 
strength, strictly, religious, and of much native good 
sense. "The Cotter's Saturday Night" had won his 
heart to the author, and no man dare utter a dis- 
respectful word of Burns in his presence. Some per- 
son, one day, was quoting from an apology for Burns, 
which had been written, when the old man became 
greatly excited. "What!" said he, "do they apologize 
for him ? One-half of his good, and all his bad, divided 
among a score of them, would make them all better men ! " 
He soon found himself in Edinburg — a stranger, and 
almost penniless. He wandered about the city for some 
days, gazing at the many things which met his eye, 
new and attractive to one just from the rural districts. 
He inquired for the grave of Ferguson, the poet; and, 
when he found it ; kneeled down and kissed the sod 



404 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

which, covered his remains. He searched for the house 
where Allan Ramsay had resided, and on entering it, 
reverently uncovered his head in token of respect for 
his memory. 

In the lonely condition of Burns in the great capital 
of Scotland, Masonry kindly came to his aid. A Mr. 
Dalrymple, a friend of the poet's in Ayrshire, and a 
prominent Mason, had given him a letter to a relative 
in the city, by whom he obtained an introduction to the 
Earl of Grlencairn and other distinguished gentlemen 
of the metropolis. He arrived in Edinburg on the 28th 
of November, 1786, and on the 7th of December he 
attended the Canon gate Kilwinning Lodge, where he 
was introduced to the Hon. Henry Erskine, the Past 
Master of the Lodge, and through him he soon became 
acquainted with a circle of the first minds in Edinburg. 
Such results are some of the benefits of Masonry, 
when judiciously and properly used. The stranger 
among strangers, if faithful to his Order, feels its 
gentle and powerful influence in his behalf — opening a 
door to friends and friendship when both are needed. 

The volume of Burns's poems fell into the hands of 
Dr. Mackenzie, by whom it was most ably and favora- 
bly reviewed in a leading literary journal, and such an 
indorsement from one whose influence was felt in so- 
ciety was most opportune. It paved the way to the 
hearts and the hearth-stones of the best society in 
Edinburg, and Burns was at once sought after as a 
prodigy in genius, and welcomed to the most select 
circles. 

A publisher agreed to issue a new edition of his poems, 
and Burns carefully revised them, at the same time 



ROBERT BURNS. 405 

adding many new ones. Nor did he neglect his ma- 
sonic privileges, but, whenever he could, conveniently, 
he attended a Lodge, where he was always welcomed 
with the liveliest satisfaction. On one occasion he at- 
tended the Grand Lodge, where his native modesty 
was severely tried. At a festive supper, after the 
Lodge was closed, the Grand Master gave as a toast — 
" Caledonia, and Caledonia's Bard — Bro. Burns ! " which 
rang through the assembly with repeated acclamations, 
to the great confusion of the rustic poet. 

During the winter he was elected Poet-Laureate to 
the Canon gate Kilwinning Lodge; and at a meeting, at 
which were present many of the most distinguished 
men of Edinburg, he was crowned with all due form 
and ceremony. 

The new edition of his poems was issued in the spring 
of 1787, and he realized from its sale a net profit of 
about five hundred pounds. During the summer he, in 
company with a young masonic friend by the name of 
Ainslie, made a tour through different portions of 
Scotland. They visited Berrywell, where they tarried 
some days with Mr. Ainslie's parents, and an incident 
occurred which shows Burns's skill in availing himself 
of passing circumstances. He went to church with the 
family on Sunday, and the minister selected a text 
which contained a severe denunciation against the 
wicked. During the sermon, Burns observed Miss 
Ainslie turning over the leaves of her Bible in search 
for the text, when he took out a slip of paper, and, 
with his pencil, wrote the following lines and handed 
her. 



406 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

* Fair maid, you need not take the hint, 
Nor idle texts pursue ; 
'T was guilty sinners that he meant — 
Not angels, such as you I " 

During this tour he was made a Eoyal Arch Mason in 
the St. Abb's Lodge at "Weymouth. We say " Lodge," 
because all the degrees were then conferred under a 
Lodge charter, Chapters not having yet been separately 
organized. The entry in the records, on the occasion 
alluded to, is a little curious, and highly compliment- 
ary to Burns. It reads : 

"At a General Encampment held this day, the fol- 
lowing brethren were made Eoyal Arch Masons, 
namely : Bobert Burns, from the Lodge of St. James, 
Torbolton, Ayrshire, and Bobert Ainslie, from the 
Lodge of St. Luke, Edinburg. Bobert Ainslie paid 
one guinea admission dues; but, on account of Bobert 
Burns's remarkable poetical genius, the Encampment 
unanimously agreed to admit him gratis, and consid- 
ered themselves honored by having a man of such 
shining abilities for one of their companions." So 
much for his " poetical genius ; " it saved him a guinea, 
and won him a compliment. 

Notwithstanding Burns's fondness for mirth and rev- 
elry, and the unfortunate habits he had contracted, his 
conscience was alive to the responsibilities of the fu- 
ture. During a severe attack of illness, while on this 
tour, he writes to a friend : "lam taken extremely ill. 
Embittering remorse scares my fancy at the gloomy 
forebodings of death. I am determined to live for the 
future in such a manner as not to be scared at the 
approach of Death. I am sure I could meet him with 



ROBERT BURKS. 407 

indifference, but for the ' something beyond the grave ! ' 
Aye, with all, it 's the ' something beyond the grave ! '" 

Burns returned to his mother's, in Mossgiel, where 
he was warmly welcomed. He left home an obscure 
rustic bard; he came back with a laurel- wreath upon 
his brow, placed there by the first men and women of 
Scotland. He left home poor; he returned in easy 
circumstances. The stern old father of Jean laid aside 
his bitterness and greeted him ; the sight of her revived 
all his former feelings, and they were soon as intimate 
as ever. In the following spring he married his early 
love, rented a farm in Ellisland, on the banks of the 
Nith f and settled down to hard work again as a farmer. 
He and his wife both labored industriously. Jean su- 
perintended the household affairs, while the poet plowed, 
reaped, made fence, tended flocks, and — every now and 
then wrote poetry. He could not forget this work of 
his heart ; and whenever he was elated or depressed in 
mind, he would give expression to his feelings in song. 
Burns's poetry all came from the heart, and that is the 
mystery of its influence over the hearts of his readers. 

Uurns had a most feeling and compassionate nature, 
and it was manifested even for the brute and inanimate 
creation. His lamentation over a beautiful flower, pre- 
maturely destroyed, goes direct to the heart ; and who 
can read, without emotion, his lines to a little mouse, 
whose nest he had destroyed by the plow ; or his poem 
on a wounded hare, which had been wantonly injured 
by a cruel sportsman ! He never engaged in field- 
sports, and but once in his life was known to use the 
fishing-rod. 

As early as 1789 the disease began to be developed 



408 MASONIC BIOGEAPHY. 

which finally hurried him to the tomb at the very noon 
of life. When suffering from these attacks, his thoughts 
would revert to the grave and the world beyond it ; he 
would become sincerely penitent, and at times express 
a confidence in relation to the future. In a letter to a 
friend, about this time, he speaks of being " weary of 
one world, and anxious about another." In the same 
letter he refers to the future with anticipations of meet- 
ing " an aged parent, now at rest from the many buf- 
fetings of an evil world, against which he so long and 
so bravely struggled;" and, also, "a friend, the disin- 
terested friend, of my early life. There should I, with 
speechless rapture, again recognize my lost, my ever- 
dear Mary, whose bosom was fraught with truth, honor, 
constancy, and love." 

He continued his labors to provide a competence for 
those dependent on him, but did not neglect his won- 
derful gift of poetry, and, during the year 1790, some 
of his finest effusions were produced. But these efforts 
of mind and body were gradually wearing away his 
life, while yet his voyage was but half-accomplished. 
He was conscious of it ; and a friend, who spent several 
days with him, says : " Every now and then he spoke 
of the grave as soon about to close over him. His 
dark eye had, at first, a character of sternness; but, as 
he became warmed — though this did not entirely melt 
away — it was mingled with changes of extreme softness." 

It would require a volume still to conclude the story 
of the poet's life ; so we must pass over much that is 
interesting, and much, too, that is calculated to throw 
a tinge of melancholy around the fate of one so gifted. 
His latter days — though he died at the noon of life — 



ROBERT BURNS. 409 

were clouded and sorrowful, for misfortunes thickened 
around him, and ruinous habits grew upon him, and 
body and mind alike suffered in the wreck which all 
had foreseen must, sooner or later, come. Poor Burns ! 
with a mind sparkling like concentrated rays of light, 
and with a heart glowing with affection and moved by 
every generous and noble impulse, yet he was compelled 
to grapple with poverty and toil through a brief exist- 
ence, and then go down to the grave when he should 
have been in the meridian of his strength. 

In three years of farming Burns lost three hundred 
pounds of the money he had made by poetry, and he 
determined to give up the plow forever. He therefore 
relinquished his lease, sold off his stock, and, in 1791, 
removed his family to Dumfries, where he had been 
appointed to a place under government, with the pitiful 
salary of seventy pounds a year ! But his removal to 
Dumfries was unfortunate for him. Desponding in 
mind, he was ready to resort to dissipation to relieve 
himself from the incubus that pressed upon him. Added 
to this, he was now more in the way of those convivial 
spirits who desired nothing better than " a night with 
Burns ; " and they lured him to the taverns and private 
parties, from his quiet home, where he gave way to the 
tempter, and lost, to some extent, his self-respect. How 
humanity weeps over that great genius, by imprudence 
ruining himself, his family, and his fame ! Thus he 
went down-hill with a constantly accelerating speed, 
until the physical man became a wreck, and the star 
that had risen in such unwonted splendor passed, at 
noonday, behind a cloud. 

Still he labored and wrote — and wrote sometimes as 
35 



410 MASONIC BIOGEAFHY. 

he never had before. The flame which burned within 
would flash np occasionally with a brilliancy it had 
never equaled in his happier years. An old love affair 
had existed between the poet and a lady in Edinburg, 
which had grown up during his first visit to that city, 
and, like all his loves, was romantic and reckless. 
After his marriage with Jean, he ceased to correspond 
with the Edinburg lady, and he had not heard from 
her for some years. In the winter of 1791-2, she sailed 
for the West Indies; but, previous to her departure, 
she wrote Burns a farewell letter, in which she says to 
him: "Seek G-od's favor, keep his commandments, be 
solicitous to prepare for a happy eternity. There, I 
trust, we will meet in never-ending bliss." This letter 
kindled the flame anew, and elicited a reply from 
Burns, which, for poetic excellence, is among the finest 
productions of his pen. I have only room to give two 
stanzas : 

" Ae fond kiss, and then we sever — 
Ae fareweel, and then forever I 
Deep in heart-wrung tears I '11 pledge thee, 
Warring sighs and groans I '11 wage thee ! 

" Had we never loved sae kindly — 
Had we never loved sae blindly ! 
Never met, or never parted, 
We had ne'er been broken-hearted I " 

Sir Walter Scott pronounced this poem worth a 
thousand romances; and Mrs. Jameson not only re- 
affirms Scott's opinion of the lines, but declares that 
they are, "in themselves, a complete romance." "They 
are," she adds, " the Alpha and Omega of feeling, and 
contain the essence of an existence of pain and pleasure 
distilled into one burning drop." 



ROBERT BURNS. 411 

Another of Burns's beautiful poems was written dur- 
ing these days of sorrow, as though the lamp were 
burning the brighter because of the dark clouds which 
gathered around it. It is an address to the river Afton, 
in which the cherished name of Mary is again intro- 
duced. A single stanza will show its character : 

"Flow gently, sweet Afton, among thy green braes — 
Flow gently ; I '11 sing thee a song in thy praise : 
My Mary *s asleep by thy murmuring stream — 
Flow gently, sweet Afton, disturb not her dream ! " 

It was about the same time, also, that he wrote the 
inimitable war-song beginning — 

"Scots wha hae wi' Wallace bled I" 

He was traveling with a friend through Galloway, on 
a pleasure excursion, or, rather, in search of health, 
when they were overtaken by a storm. The sweeping 
winds, the lightning, and the thunder, furnished the in- 
spiration, it was said, which produced the imaginary 
address of Bruce to his army previous to the battle of 
Bannockburn. 

But we can not minutely follow the gifted poet 
through the few remaining years of his brief but 
checkered life. He continued in his office, and made 
out to realize from it sufficient to provide for his fam- 
ily the necessaries of life, but very few of its luxuries. 
By his growing habits of dissipation, he broke down 
his health, and hastened his progress to the grave, 
while he became low-spirited and querulous. His wife 
was one of the best of women-^-a ..patient, kind, for- 
bearing creature, who bore all for her children and 



412 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

for Burns, to whom she clung as the trusting heart of 
woman can cling to its early and only love. 

By reference to the records of the Lodge at Dum- 
fries, it is found that Burns was quite regular in his 
attendance, after his removal to that town, down to 
within a few months of his death, when his health 
entirely forbade his going out at night. He seems to 
have retained his love for Masonry to the last; and, 
although not in any official position as formerly, still 
he felt a deep interest in the prosperity of the Order. 
His attendance at the Lodge is noted,^for the last time, 
on the 14th of April, 1796. 

In May, 1796, Burns wrote his last poem, and it was 
one of his sweetest and tender est songs. He called 
one morning on a lady, a particular friend of his wife's, 
and for whom he entertained a very warm personal re- 
gard. His health, at this time, was very feeble. The 
lady was fond of music, and the poet told her if she 
would play an air of which she was particularly fond, 
he would write her a song for it. She went to the 
piano and played her favorite air. As soon as the poet 
became accustomed to the melody, he sat down and 
wrote the following song, in the Scotch dialect, as though 
addressed to herself: 



" O ! wert thou in the eauld blast 

On yonder lea, on yonder lea, 
My plaidie to the angry airt, 

I 'd shelter thee, I 'd shelter thee ; 
Or did misfortune's bitter storms 

Around thee blaw, around thee blaw, 
Thy bield should be my bosom, 

To share it a', to share it a' J 



ROBERT BURNS. 413 

" Or were I in the wildest waste, 

Sae black and bare, sae black and bare, 
The desert were a paradise 

If thou wert there, if thou wert there ; 
Or were I monarch o' the globe, 

Wi' thee to reign, wi' thee to reign, 
The brightest jewel in my crown 

Wad be my queen, wad be my queen ! " 

T tese verses were worthy of his better days; but 
the flame was dying upon the altar. The celebrated 
Mendelssohn, after Burns's death, set the song to music, 
and love, poetry, and music have become immortal to- 
gether, The lady for whom the song was written was 
a Miss Lewars, sister of a Mr. Lewars, who was one of 
Burns's most intimate friends. She was a most esti- 
mable and accomplished young lady, and a particular 
favorite of both the poet and his excellent wife, Mr. 
Chambers, in his life of Burns, alluding to the fore- 
going incident, adds : 

" The anecdote is a trivial one in itself; but we feel 
that the circumstances — the deadly illness of the poet, 
the beneficent worth of Miss Lewars, and the reasons 
for his grateful desire of obliging her — give it a value. 
It is curious, and something more, to connect it with 
the subsequent musical fate of the song; for many 
years after, when Burns had become a star in mem- 
ory's galaxy, and Jessy Lewars was spending her 
quiet years of widowhood, over her book or her knit- 
ting, in a little parlor in Maxwell town, the verses 
attracted the regard of Felix Mendelssohn, who seems 
to have divined the peculiar feeling beyond all common 
love which Burns breathed through them. By that 
admirable artist — so like our great bard in a too early 



414 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

death — they were married to an air of exquisite pathos, 
'such as the meeting soul may pierce.' Burns, Jessy 
Lewars, Felix Mendelssohn — genius, goodness, and 
tragic melancholy, all combined in one solemn and 
profoundly affecting association ! " 

Burns gradually grew worse, until, on the 21st of 
July, 1796, he calmly passed away from earth, and the 
harp which had so long filled the land with its sweet 
and touching melodies ceased its vibrations forever. 

The remains of the poet were followed to the grave 
by a very large procession, composed of the citizens of 
Dumfries and the surrounding country, together with 
a military escort, the " Gentlemen Volunteers of Dum- 
fries," of which Burns was a member, and other vol- 
unteer regiments. The scene was imposing and solemn : 
the military with reversed arms ; the band playing the 
Dead March in Saul; the deep emotions that pervaded 
all hearts, regretful of the fate of one so gifted and so 
loved ! The body was laid away in the north-east cor- 
ner of St. Michael's Church-yard, and three volleys 
were fired over his grave by the military. 

Dr. Currie, who is, probably, the best authority on 
the subject, has left us the following description of the 
poet s personal appearance and manners : 

" Burns was nearly five feet ten inches in hight, and 
of a form that indicated agility as well as strength. 
His ' well-raised forehead, shaded with black, curling 
hair, indicated extensive capacity. His eyes were 
large, dark, and full of ardor and intelligence. His 
face was well-formed, and his countenance uncommonly 
interesting and expressive. His mode of dressing, 
which was often slovenly, and a certain fullness and 



ROBERT BURNS. 415 

bend in his shoulders, disguised, in some degree, the 
natural symmetry and elegance of his form. The ex- 
ternal appearance of Burns was most strikingly indica- 
tive of the character of his mind. On a first view, his 
physiognomy had a certain air of coarseness, mingled, 
however, with an expression of deep penetration and 
of calm thoughtfulness, approaching to melancholy. 
There appeared, in his first manner and address, perfect 
ease and self-possession, but a stern and almost super- 
cilious elevation, not, indeed, incompatible with open- 
ness and affability, which, however, bespoke a mind 
conscious of superior talents. Strangers that supposed 
themselves approaching an Ayrshire peasant who could 
make rhymes, and to whom their notice was an honor, 
found themselves speedily overawed by the presence of 
a man who bore himself with dignity, and who possessed 
a singular power of correcting forwardness, and of re- 
pelling intrusion His dark and haughty 

countenance easily relaxed into a look of good-will, of 
pity, or of tenderness ; and, as the various emotions suc- 
ceeded each other in his mind, assumed, with equal ease, 
the expression of the broadest humor, of the most ex- 
travagant mirth, of the deepest melancholy, or of the 
most sublime emotion. The tones of his voice happily 
corresponded with the expression of his features and 
with the feelings of his mind. When to these endow- 
ments are added a rapid and distinct apprehension, a 
most powerful understanding, and a happy command of 
language — of strength as well as brilliancy of expres- 
sion — we shall be able to account for the extraordinary 
attractions of his conversation — for the sorcery which, 
in his social parties, he seemed to exert on all arouud 



416 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

him. In the company of women, this sorcery was more 
especially apparent. Their presence charmed the fiend 
of melancholy in his bosom, and awoke his happiest 
feelings; it excited the powei'3 of his fancy, as well as 
the tenderness of his heart — and, by restraining the 
vehemence and exuberance of his language, at times 
gave to his manners the impression of taste, and even 
of elegance, which in the company of men they seldom 
possessed. . . . No languor could be felt in the 
society of a man who passed at pleasure from grave to 
gay, from the ludicrous to the pathetic, from the sim- 
ple to the sublime; who wielded all his faculties with 
equal strength and ease, and never failed to impress 
the offspring of his fancy with the stamp of his under- 
standing." 

The grave of Burns remained unmarked by any 
monument for many years ; but his Jean, whose love 
was true and unfaltering while she lived, at length, out 
of her own scanty means, placed a plain stone upon it 
to mark the spot, and bearing merely his name and 
age, and those of his two sons interred by his side. 
At length, some of those who had known and admired 
Burns inaugurated measures by which public attention 
was awakened to the subject, and a subscription was 
started to erect a suitable monument to his memory. 
The means were soon raised; the designs for a hand- 
some structure matured; the remains were removed 
from the spot where they were first deposited to a more 
eligible location in the same graveyard, and, in the fall 
of 1815, the monument was completed. 

Burns now sleeps beneath a beautiful cenotaph, and 
around him lie the dead of many generations. The 



ROBERT BURNS. 417 

monument is an octagon of pillars, surmounted by a 
dome ; three sides, between the pillars, are inclosed by 
heavy plate-glass. In the back part is a statue of the 
poet, of life-size, and of pure white marble. One hand 
is grasping the handle of a plow (also of marble) which 
is imbedded in a furrow; with the other he holds his 
cap, or "scone bonnet," as though he had just taken it 
from his head. Above him is the genius of Scotland, 
in the act of throwing her mantle over him, as though 
for shelter and protection. 

It is the monument of the graveyard. All around 
sleep the wealthy and the high-born for five or six 
hundred years past; but his monument is the most 
noted and the soonest marked by the inquiring stranger. 
It is not a cenotaph built by wealthy and aristocratic 
heirs, to mark the resting-place of one who had accu- 
mulated a fortune for them, and then died unloved, 
save by his own, and unhonored, save by the marble 
which his wealth could purchase. It was built by 
voluntary contributions from an admiring public, over 
the grave of one of the sons of toil, born to no fortune 
and heir to no renown. His death was in poverty 
almost as abject as his birth, but his genius had won 
him a place in the affections of his countrymen, and 
carved his name among the most honored in the land. 
From the humble clay biggin to the ducal palace, his 
name was familiar as a household word, and his songs 
were chanted by lord and rustic with an enthusiasm 
never witnessed before. To mark their appreciation 
of their poet, the poor man brought his penny and the 
opulent of his abundance, until, on the banks of the 
Doon and the Kith, as well as on a lofty hill in the 



418 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

proud old city of Edinburg, overlooking the palace 
and the graves of Scotland's ancient monarchs, there 
are monuments to Scotland's sweetest poet. And 
everywhere in the three kingdoms, in palace and parlor 
and hall, in old cathedral and splendid library, in park 
and cottage and university — everywhere you see the 
portrait and statue and bust of the plowman-poet. 
Such is the homage which genius has won from old 
dynasties and proud aristocracies. The whole British 
nation, from the throne to the peer, and from the peer 
to the peasant, is this day doing homage to the name 
and the memory of the immortal Bard of Ayrshire. 

But we must bid farewell to the gifted poet, and, in 
parting, must lament that such rare gifts of poetry, 
such tender and exquisite sensibilities of soul, and such 
uncommon natural talents had not been refined by a 
better culture and consecrated to the higher interests 
of man. Yet we learn some valuable lessons in re- 
viewing his history. Human nature — however fallen 
from its original purity; whatever clouds may obscure 
its intellect; however absorbed in money-getting or 
office-seeking — will still do homage to genius, though 
the possessor of it may be left for the time being to 
starve, or dig, or beg. Whether he trudge through life 
in humble poverty, or move in the saloons of wealth 
and fashion, the man of true genius will leave his mark 
upon the world, though.it may not be fully revealed 
to the public gaze until the man himself is beyond the 
world's censure or its praise. He will write his name 
somewhere — either among the stars or the flowers, on 
the rocks of the earth or the hearts of his fellows. 
Genius may be cramped and fettered, but still it will 



ROBERT BURNS. 419 

soar and shine ; and, frequently, the more obstacles in its 
path, by position and circumstances, the greater will be 
its achievements when it has risen above them. You 
may bar the door and fetter the limb, but you can not 
imprison the mind, nor put shackles upon thought; 
you might as easily chain the earthquake or fetter the 
lightning. The more dense the gloom which envelops 
the mind struggling to assert its birthright, the more 
intense and startling will be the light of its track when 
it shall have broken away from its bondage, and soared 
to mid-heaven in its daring flight. The glories of the 
mind, as well as the virtues of the heart, are more 
highly estimated when the form that enshrouded them 
has moldered into dust; and those who turned away 
in scorn from a star of the first magnitude, when its 
milder glories illuminated only the cottage and the 
home circle, are first to offer their oblations when it 
has passed beyond the earth's orbit, and taken its place 
among the constellations. 

Eobert Burns was born in obscurity and reared in 
penury; he was left to grope his own way through a 
brief but erratic existence, and shroud a mind, at noon- 
day, that might have outshone the greatest lights of 
his day and nation. But the very men who neglected 
to foster and direct his mighty energies while living, 
were the first to build his monument and weep over 
his tomb when dead. When the meteoric flash had 
gone out in darkness, men worshiped its memory who 
would not even turn to gaze on it when in the zenith 
of its brightness ! 

But the fame of Burns has been growing brighter with 
each passing year since his death. The world will con- 



420 MASONIC BIOGRAPHY. 

tinue to love his memory and do homage to his genius 
until true poetry ceases to be admired, and true genius 
fails to command a worshiper. In parting from him, 
we feel like using the words of his brother poet — 

"O, Robert Burns ! the man — the brother I 
And art thou gone, and gone forever ? 
And hast thou crossed that unknown river — 

Life's dreary bound? 
Like thee where shall we find another 
The world around ? 

" Go to your sculptured tombs, ye great, 
In a' the tinsel trash o' state ; 
But by thy honest turf I'll wait, 

Thou man of worth, 
And weep the sweetest poet's fate 

That lived on earth I " 






no *>* ,V 




"^ ■ A*" 










.<? ^. 



